Vendetta's Puppet
by Devilslilsistaxo678
Summary: Forced to be moved from her home and gang in Kusogakure Mayumi moves to Konoha and finds a whole mess of Gang violence. She finds herself involved in the Gang Akatsuki as well as one of its members, along with her friends can Mayumi help bring down Oto AU
1. Goodbye Kusogakure

I smile up at the flashing colors, enjoying the vibrations from the booms. The pops, the sizzling, the smoke, this was the perfect night, the last night before summer ends. The last night before I would move away from Kusogakure, away from my home, and away from my gang. Surprised, well you should be I don't look like I would be in a gang. I'm Four feet, eleven inches, not very tall but I get by ok, I have short brown hair slightly spiky and I usually have a braid going through it. I have Green eyes, big, I get compliments on them a lot, people call them cat like. Then add in some piercings, one in my nose, about five up my ears and a bar through my right, and yes a belly ring. I'm thin, I am filled in all the right places, now imagine that everything I where is black, green, and purple then you have me, Mayumi. My full name is Natsuyo Mayumi, and I am the baby of my family and my gang. My older sister's name is Nori, and she is one of the original founders of the gang I am a part of, The Purple Vendetta's. Back when she was in high school the school was split into a series of different cliques that morphed into gangs at night. There are the Pink Ladies, they were the preps, they mostly did thefts, drug deals, and the occasional drive by, but they are dangerous. The Green Giants were the jocks; they did all the gambling, prostitution, selling steroids, and distribution of alcohol to minors. The Black Crows were the Goths, and they helped pass around drugs and alcohol, found locations for raves, and hooked up every gang with their weapons of choice, for the right price. The Teal Cyborgs were the geeks but they had the intelligence to destroy any gang that got in there way, but not the brawn. They could hack computers, get weapons, drugs, just about anything on the black market. My Sister never had a group, she wanted to be a black crow but they said she wasn't dark enough. Apparently the initiation into the Black Crows was to kill a cow or something creepy like that, my sister is a diehard vegetarian. So after that she decided to form her own gang, a gang that was a mix of all the other cast offs. Her best friend Oki who couldn't get into the Teal Cyborgs joined her in her dream. They gathered together twelve people, three people who wanted to get into a group and could not. They had difficulty picking a name at first, they all wanted something different. The Pink wannabe's wanted something cool like fashion bots, the Cyborgs something clever, a boy who wanted to be a Green Giant came up with Vendetta. His name was Rei and he is now my sisters Fiancé. But the gang needed a color, something that the boys would be ok with and the preps wouldn't bitch about. They finally decided Purple, The Purple Vendetta's were born on October 30th, and the first thing they did was get tattoos. My Sister designed the logo, a black mist with a purple mask with a sword behind it. I am happy to say I also have this tattoo hidden on my left hip. I joined the gang at this same place I am now one year ago. My initiation was simple; I was to steal as much as I could from the Kusogakure fair, then I would get my knife, my tattoo, and my ring. I stole as much as my pockets could carry, about five silver chains, a few pocket knives, a couple of rings, and a pocket full of lighters. I knew how to pick out the nice people from the assholes, my sister told me all about it. Never steal from a nice person, always take things from people who are rude to you. So I asked them the time and if they gave it to me I would walk on by and if they said if you're not going to buy anything go away, then I would swipe stuff from them. The members, none of them the original twelve, were impressed with the amount I had acquired and I got in. My sister gave me the knife herself, pretty black steel, our gangs symbol on the hilt, easy to open and use. I got the tattoo after the fireworks, Daichi; one of the original Purple Vendetta's became a tattoo artist and branded all of us minors who joined. It was painful, but worth it, I was one of them and for those short twelve months I was a part of many painful battles for drugs, money, and territories, but I was also part of a family. Then about a month ago mom announced that we were moving to Konoha. I was devastated; I had so many wonderful friends, Sachi, Rui, Seiki, and Ketsui, I am going to miss them so much, I would miss my sister. She's 24, and is going to start her family in our grassy town. But more than being sad I was angry, angry because I would never lead the Purple Vendetta's, angry to have to leave my family, and to leave everything I know and love. I still am angry, but I can barely think of it, not when my friends are all around me, watching the last of the colors fade from the sky. We needed to take the new recruits to get they're tattoo's done; unfortunately this was where we part ways. I had to drive to Konoha with my parents. My junior year would be lonely, I had a feeling I would have trouble making friends, but I would have to endure.

"Call every chance you get ok?" Ketsui shouts, holding me tightly to his chest, "And if you see any cute gay boys send them to me, ok?"

"Alright Ketsui-chi I will," I say, trying hard not to laugh and cry, "Bye Seiki, be nice to the newbie's ok?"

"Yeah right, like that will ever happen," She shouts, tucking a strand of green hair behind her ear, "Just don't go joining a new gang right away ok?"

"I doubt I would do that," I say, hugging her, she hugs back, "I'll miss you Seiki-chan."

"Hey, it's going to be ok, once a vendetta always a vendetta," Rui states, patting me on the shoulder, "We won't let this family end."

"You're a strong boy, and everyone will be honored to call you the leader, take care of this for me, Rui-kun," he pulls me into a tight hug, and I hold tight to him.

"I will." He whispers.

"Sachi-chan are you going to be good?" I ask the shy gray haired girl.

"Yes, I won't let you down Mayumi-chan." She says, putting her hand over her heart.

"Good," My parents pull up and honk the horn at me, "Bye guys, call me, and take videos of all the new kids crying, and don't forget about me ok?"

"How could we, now get out of her before your mom starts yelling." Seiki shouts.

I ran to my parent's car and jumped in the back, looking out the window at all my friends, waving to me as my parents started to drive away. I waved back, feeling tears start to leak out of my eyes. I would miss the grassy plains of Kusogakure, and I would miss the gang I was a part of but I guess I would find a new gang in the future. The idea of joining a different gang sounds taboo to some but to the vendettas if one of our own wanted to join another gang, they could, and if that gang ditched them, they could come back. Once a Vendetta, always a vendetta, and that rule was not going to change anytime soon.

The drive to Konoha took seven hours and two thirty minute bathroom stops, my Dad drove the whole way. When we finally arrived at our new house I could have fallen over if I had not been sleeping. My mother moved us into a large mansion; I never knew we could even afford such a large place. Two floors, both filled with large glass windows, a large green door, with a deck out front, it is so beautiful. I run all the way to the door once the car came to a stop, I open the door, gasping at the double staircase. A crystal chandelier hangs overhead, making the opening to this place seem like entering a castle.

"Mom, Dad, are you loaded?" I shout, turning to look at them.

"No honey, your great aunt left this house to me in her will, so I decided we would come live here instead." Mom says, "Now please stop shouting, its 4:30 in the morning."

"Whatever, the neighbors are like a mile away from us."I say loudly just to annoy mom.

"Honey I know this is a big change for you but can we talk about this later, I am tired." Dad yawns, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"What Bedroom is mine, where is my bedroom?" I ask, taking a few steps into the house.

"Go up the right hand staircase keep going right and you're the last day on the left. Your mother and I are the exact opposite." Dad says, "Your bed is already made up and later today we will move in the rest of the furniture."

"Can I paint my room purple?" I ask.

"The room is already purple, but if you want to paint it more I can take you to a hardware store in town later, let's just go to bed ok?" Dad sighs, pushing me up the stairs.

"Fine," I grumble, "Hey what about my suitcase?"

"The purple duffel bag on your bed, it has your pajamas in it now sleep!" Mom groans, from the top of the stairs.

"Night." I shout, before walking up the rest of the stairs and to my new room.

The walls are purple but not the dark kind that I usually go for; it's more of a lavender. I actually kind of like it, the bed is placed against the left wall of the room with two windows on each side. It's a four poster bed, with a dark set of sheets folded on top; I have to make my own bed, lame. My dark purple bag is placed on top of the mattress next to the sheets and two pillows. The room is three times bigger than my old one, and it even has a private bathroom and a walk in closet. I guess I could get use to this; it will be my home for the next three years. I pull the duffel bag off the bed and put my clothing away in my closet. It's only three outfits and a set of pajamas, the rest of my wardrobe is on the moving truck. I make my bed next, smiling because my mom had brought my favorite bed spread. The black with the green and purple paint splatters, my mother had it custom ordered for my birthday a few years ago.

"Hey honey," Dad says, walking into my room.

"Hey pops what's up?" I ask, sitting down on my now made bed.

"I know you hate us for having to move away from everything you've known but you have to understand. Your mother loved her aunt and this house meant everything to both of them. Your aunt was your mother's last living relative so you have to understand how hard it was for her to lose her." Dad says, sitting beside me.

"I guess I understand, I just miss Kusogakure, everyone I know lives there, and I don't exactly fit in well." I mumble.

"Your unique, you and Nori both and that's why people like you. You will fit in just fine, just be yourself." Dad states, throwing his arm over my shoulder and pulling me into a hug.

"Alright but if I have to where uniform I will hitch hike back home." I say, hugging him back.

"I doubt it, goodnight Mayumi, sleep tight."

"Night Daddy," I whisper as he leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

I change into a loose fitting gray tank top and a pair of purple boxers, my usual type of pajamas. I pull the braid out of my hair, smoothing out the wavy tendrils, adding them to the rest of my hair. I brush my teeth quickly in the bathroom and shut off the lights before leaping onto my bed. Its soft and I feel myself slip quickly into a deep sleep.

"Mom, did you really need to buy me this vanity?" I ask, looking up at the new item in my room.

The mirror is huge and three times taller than me with a mahogany wood wrapped around the oval. It stands elegantly attached to the desk which covers half of the wall to the right of my bed. Mom always said when she was going up she wished she had a vanity, so she bought me one.

"Don't you just love it; I thought it was exactly your style!" Mom cheers, hugging me tightly.

"Yeah mom it's great, does it come in lime green?" I ask, looking at it.

"Oh you're such a kidder; Dad will be up with the rest of your boxes soon." Mom says, walking out of my room.

I sigh and sit down at the chair in front of my new vanity. My hair is pulled back into a loose pony tail today but I still have a braid running through it. I am wearing my favorite black shirt; it buttons up the front but then makes a diamond over my cleavage and wrapping around my neck. The spot is covered with black lace and a bit of ribbon from the collar around my neck. Then I am wearing my favorite dark purple skirt that goes to my knees with a pair of dark green fishnets and black flats. I adjust my hair brush and makeup around the mirror, my perfume and lotion is still in the box by my window. I skip back over to the box and pull out my perfumes; I really should reduce the amount I have.

"Hey babe, how about a hug?" a voice asks from behind me.

"Nori," I shout, running into my sister's arms, "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, I brought you a present," She says, handing me a green container.

I open it to reveal a scroll of rice paper; I carefully unroll it and squeal with delight at what I see. On the delicate paper is a watercolor painting of the purple vendetta's on it with all of the member's names, old, current, and new on it. It looks wonderful, the purple cloudy and dark almost blending into the black mist around it. The sword looked like it would come out of the page and stab you if you tried to touch it. I look up at her and then look back down on it, it's beautiful.

"You painted this?" I ask, finally forming words.

"Yeah Rei and Daichi helped me a little with mixing the colors and everyone else signed it." she says, gazing down at the piece.

"I love it, it's so beautiful Nori!" I gush, "I'll hang it over there." I point towards a bare part of wall on the left side of my bed over my side table.

"I'm so happy you like it," She says, jumping up and down, her skirt fluttering everywhere.

Nori doesn't look like me, she is taller like my father and has her hair dyed black with purple stripes. Her eyes are green more of a jade, and she is a little more rounded than me, she has curves. She has the same kind of style as me only she likes blue instead of green. She's wearing a pretty purple blouse today with a loose black skirt and a pair of pumps. She turns to me and pulls me into another hug, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hey how did she like it?" Rei asks, walking into my room.

Rei wanted to be a Green Giant in high school which was the jocks, so he is pretty well built. He is muscular, arms large and emphasized by his tight fitting green shirt. He is blonde and has hazel eyes; my sister says she likes his eyes a lot. When they first started dating senior year Nori would always talking about how Rei's eyes could just look into her soul. I thought she was being stupid and mushy gushy. But when I met Rei I saw what she meant, his eyes were intense, but whenever he looked at Nori I could see the love that radiated from him. Rei pats my head, wrapping his arm around Nori's waist.

"I love the picture, it's great."

"Good and are you excited about the wedding, you're going to have to figure out who your dates going to be."

"Rei don't pressure her," Nori giggles, punching him lightly in the arm.

"Well if I don't make any friends here I will probably just take Rui. Although I think he might lean towards the more burly rugged type." I say, chuckling.

"Oh so he is into athletic girls?" Rei questions.

"She is calling him gay sweetie," Nori says before bursting out into a fit of laughter.

"Oh… Oh I get it; I never pictured him as a gay guy." Rei says, tilting his head to the side.

"Well I think he is, oh is it time for lunch I'm starving!" I shout, hearing mom calling us downstairs.

"Food!" Rei shouts, picking Nori and I up, throwing us over his shoulders.

"Rei put me down!" Nori screams.

"Not a chance, oh I smell chicken, awesome!"

I smile as he places us both on the mats before sitting down on the one between Nori and I. Mom chuckles to as she begins to put rice into our bowls, there are two dining rooms but mom prefers the traditional Japanese style one. I like it too, it reminds me of our old home and the dinners we would have in a traditional setting. Dad sits down beside mom and Nori and picks up his chopsticks, the rest of us follow his lead.

"Itadakimasu!" he shouts.

"Itadakimasu,"the rest of us chime after him.

I love eating dinner like this, a lot of my friends don't eat sitting on their knees, they usually eat at a kitchen table, in chairs. It seems so weird to eat like that; eating like that makes me think of being at a restaurant.

"Hey sweetie, do you want some more honey sesame chicken?" Mom asks, offering a spoonful.

"Yes please!" I cheer, taking a bite of the steaming food.

"Are you excited about the new school Mayumi-chan, I heard there are a lot of _clubs _at Konoha high." Nori says, emphasizing the word club.

"I don't know if I should join a _Club_ right away Nori-chan, it's a little soon." I grumble, I know she is asking if I will join a new gang.

"You should go for it; it will help you make new friends faster."Rei says, taking a huge bite of chicken.

"I suppose, but it still seems too soon."

"Mayumi please pass the broccoli, "Mom asks, I pass her the bowl.

"I think Mayumi should join a club and make lots of new friends, ne?" Dad says, turning to mom.

"Yes I have to agree it would be good to help you make friends." Mom agrees.

I sigh and continue to eat while mom and dad talk about me joining a club, while Nori and Rei give me reassuring looks. I don't feel comfortable joining a new gang or joining a club; it just seems to soon, way to soon. I miss the grassy plains of the Kusogakure, I miss my friends, I miss my gang. I don't want to start over again, it just seems so tedious. Mom and Dad never knew Nori and I were in a gang, they just thought we spent a lot of time with our friends. They had to work a lot, even overtime back home because he had a high mortgage that took them working on the weekends, another reason we were able to sneak out for gang time. Tomorrow I will start at a new school, I will have to make new friends, and I am nervous. I climb the stairs to my room, Rei and Nori just left, they're taking a bus home. They kept saying that no matter what I do making friends should be my top priority but I don't know how this school functions. I don't know how bad the cliques are or if any of the gangs in the area rule the school. I don't know how people will react to me coming to they're school from a completely different environment. I don't even know if I will fit in with my dark clothing and strange tendencies. But like Dad has been saying, I just need to be myself and everyone will like me. If I acted like myself then I would be kicked out of school for starting a fight with a teacher or something. Actually I think I would start I fight with a teacher, depending on what the subject is.

"Hey honey, I know your nervous about tomorrow but don't be. I made you a bento with the left over's from tonight, just add the rice in the morning and you will be all set. I love you very much honey." Mom says, kissing my forehead, "You will do great in school, I know it."

"Ok mom, I love you, night." She leaves my room, and I close the door behind her.

I'm so nervous, I'm going to do something totally un-cool and fall on my face or something totally freaky. What if I fall down the stairs and knock down a teacher and get detention on the first day? Or what if I accidently sit down at the wrong table during lunch and invoke the wrath of some gang of idiots who cannot be reasoned with? Oh man, this would be so much easier if I had at least one friend, but I guess I should count my blessings. I'm starting school the same day as everyone else coming back from summer break, so it should be ok. Maybe I should pick out my outfit for tomorrow; I quickly run to my closet and look around, pulling out my favorite green skirt. It goes to just above my knees and it goes well with my pair of black and green stripped socks. Ok now shirts, I pull out a black t- shirt and place it down on the ground above my skirt and socks. Oh I know I'll wear my purple vest over it, which will look nice. Finally I put on the finishing touch, my purple vendetta scarf, this will give me luck. I pull it out and fold all of my clothing, putting it on my vanity for tomorrow. I sit down in the chair and begin to undo the braid in my hair before quickly changing into my pajamas, tomorrow will be a rough day. _

"Good luck sweetie, do well in all of your classes and remember just be yourself." Dad says, I smile at him nervously.

"I'm really nervous, what if no one talks to me?" I ask, running my hands down my skirt.

"It will be fine, and stop fidgeting with your clothes, you look great honey."

"Thanks Dad, well wish me luck."

"You of all people don't need it."

I jump out of the car and watch as dad drives away, waving slightly as he goes. I smile and turn to look at my new school; it's three times bigger than my old one. I hold onto my purple bag, taking a deep breath before I start walking. I feel my heels click in a soft rhythm against the pavement; I decided to wear lime green heels, to make myself look taller. I look down at my feet for a second and when I look up I bump into someone.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." I say quickly, looking at the boy.

"Watch where you're going." The red haired boy growls, before walking away.

"Jeez I thought you were dead meat new girl," A blonde girl with her hair up in a short pony tail says, "I thought the scorpion was going to sting you."

The girl is tall, and I can tell that when I where flats I will be very short compared to her. She has short blonde hair pulled up into a high ponytail, and pretty greenish blue eyes. She's wearing a dark purple dress that goes down to her knees with a pair of black leggings underneath. On her feet is a pair of heels, so maybe she isn't as tall as I think. Her ears have a pair of silver hoops and three other piercings climbing up her ears. She smiles at me, and I can tell its genuine.

"Scorpion?" I question.

"Yeah that's Akasuna Sasori, he is nicknamed the scorpion by his friends, he's a part of this gang, you should be careful." She says, "Oh by the way I'm Ino, it's nice to meet you."

"I'm Mayumi; it's nice to meet you Ino-san." I reply, holding out my hand, she takes it.

"Nice threads by the way, you have more style than Forehead over there, I think we're going to be good friends."

"I would like that; hey can you show me to the administration office, I need to pick up my schedule."

"Of course, follow me, and a word of warning, don't be too loud in front of the principal. Tsunade-sensei is really angry person especially one the first day of school."

"Thanks for the warning I'll keep that in mind," well now I am nervous.

We keep walking into the building and walk down the right hand corridor to a door office.

"Good luck, I hope we have classes together, Mayumi-chan!" Ino cheers, "I can wait out here for you if you'd like."

"Don't trouble yourself; I hope to see you in some of my classes." I say, we say goodbye and she walks away.

Well here it goes, I open the door and gaze inside the office, sitting at a desk is a woman with short black hair cut in a bob. She stands when she sees me come in, revealing a black and white blouse and black dress pants.

"Ah Natsuyo-san it's nice to meet you, let me go tell Tsunade-san that you are here." She says, walking over to the door, "Tsunade-san Natsuyo Mayumi is here to see you."

"Send her in!" A voice shouts from inside.

"Good luck Natsuyo-san," The woman says, gesturing me to enter the office.

Let's hope this goes well.


	2. Welcome to Konoha High

I enter the principal's office and I see a rather young looking blonde woman sitting before me at a desk. She looks up at me with tired amber eyes and gestures for me to sit down, I do.

"Welcome to Konoha High Natsuyo-san, how are you?"

"Um I'm fine Tsunade-sensei," I mumble, twiddling my thumbs.

"Well I just wanted to personally welcome you to Konoha high and to hand you your schedule. There is a map of the campus on the back so it should be easy to find all of your classes. You have five blocks a day six if you include lunch. You have lunch two which is between block four and five; it's the most requested lunch in schedules so I hope you enjoy it. We do unfortunately have gang activity in the school but I hope you will be fine and avoid any violence or bullying that may occur."

"Yes Tsunade-sensei I will do my best, may I go to class now?" I ask.

"Yes, here you go, your first class is on the second floor, room number 206, Shizune will give you a pass."

"Thank you Tsunade-sensei," I say, bowing before I leave her office.

Shizune looks up at me as I walk in, "Here is your pass Natsuyo-san, and enjoy the rest of your day."

"Thank you Shizune-san." I say before leaving the office, the note in my hand.

Well that wasn't as bad I thought it was going to be, Tsunade-sensei seemed more concern about my safety and the possibility of me getting into trouble with a gang. I wonder if she knows about my involvement with gangs at my old school. I never got in trouble for being in one back home; I mean I was a good student until the bell rang at the end of the day. Oh well, as long as bumping into that Sasori guy doesn't come back to bite me in the ass I should be good. I look down at my schedule and see what class I have first, History with Iruka-sensei, well this sucks. I will probably fall asleep from the combination of morning fatigue and the boring subject. I skip up the stairs and walk down the hall towards room 206; I hope Ino is in this class. I open the door and walk in quietly; everyone's eyes are on me. In the back corner I see Sasori with three guys all of them have a similar feature on them. They all have a red cloud on them, not in the same place. I know what this is, they are showing off they're gang sign, it's meant so that other gangs know who they're up against, smart.

"I'm sorry for interrupting but I have this class, I'm Natsuyo Mayumi." I say, bowing slightly to Iruka-sensei.

"Ah Natsuyo-san it's a pleasure to meet you, please introduce yourself to the class." Iruka says, gesturing me forward.

"It's nice to meet you all, I am Natsuyo Mayumi." I say, bowing.

"Why don't you tell the class about yourself?"

"Um well I'm from Kusogakure and my favorite colors are green and purple."

"Care to tell us any hobbies you have?"

"Well I can't think of any at the moment," That could be considered legal I think to myself.

"Alright then please take a seat beside Yamanaka-san." Iruka says, pointing out Ino.

I quickly take a seat at her table and give her a smile, she smiles back. Iruka continues on with roll call and I learn the names of the three others that sit around him. Kakuzu is the large one with the black hood over his head and burning green eyes. Deidara is the blonde haired one with the girl like figure and pretty blue eyes. Then there is Hidan, the silver haired, pink eyed man with a sadistic smile on his face and splatters of blood on his white shirt. Oh yeah, it's a gang, and I know there has to be more of them. Sasori is glaring at the back of my head with his hazel eyes; I got to get a better look at him during the lesson. Short, probably a few inches taller than me, a dark gray t-shirt with a lighter gray design swirling around it, dark washed jeans. A red cloud is attached to his left shirt sleeve; it's an interesting symbol, not as creative as the purple vendetta's mark. I tug lightly at my scarf and listen to Iruka speak about our homework assignment.

"I want you all to write a paper, a full page at the least, and tell me about your favorite period of History. It does not have to be just here, it can be anywhere in the world, be creative. Extra credit will go to anyone who draws a picture about their favorite time period." Iruka says, writing it down on the board, "You may begin now."

"Oh I am so happy we have a class together, hey give me your schedule." Ino says, I hand it to her, "Ok so we have history together, next period you have biology, then Algebra 2 we have that together, than you have a free block lucky, and lunch two we can sit together awesome, and then you have Art. Well at least we see each other three times, that's cool but why do you have a free block only Juniors and Seniors get free block."

"Well I am a junior," I say.

"Really but you don't look like a junior." Ino mumbles, "Wow I'm friends with a junior that makes me cooler than forehead for sure!"

"Forehead?" I question.

"It's this girl I was sort of friends with her when we were little than we got a crush on the same guy and it tore us apart. But I got over the guy, became more mature and I am interested in a better guy but she still thinks I like her man. They aren't even going out he hates her guts and I heard a rumor that he's gay anyway so why bother wasting time on him right. But no Forehead won't let it go, stupid bitch won't leave me alone and she is ruining my chances with the guy I do like."

"Point her out to me at lunch, the boys too."

"Boys, you mean the guy I used to like and the one I do?"

"Yup, so what are you going to write about?"

"Oh definitely something about agriculture, don't let others know but I really like flowers and plants, what about you Mayumi-chan?"

"Probably the Italian renaissance, it's the only part of history I actually like, I'm really into art."

"Cool, oh man Akasuna is glaring daggers at you, watch your back after school." Ino whispers, I look behind me and he is indeed glaring quite intensely.

"I'm not afraid of him; he doesn't know what he's up against." I grin; remember the knife I had hidden in my bag.

"Well if you're sure and if you want I guess I'll have your back if you need it." Ino says.

"That would be pretty swish, what class do you have next?"

"Gym, it's going to suck I have it with Forehead."

The bell rings, Ino and I part ways her to gym and I use the map to get to my Biology class. I enter the room and take one of the empty lab seats in the middle of the room; gangs usually claim the back of classrooms. A girl with dark blue hair walks up to me and smiles before sitting beside me, she is really pretty. Her hair is held up with a clip and has a white paper flower on the right side of her head. She is wearing a dark blue t-shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans with cuts in them revealing blue fishnets underneath. She has several piercings in her ears with a bar just like mine in her left ear; she also has a nose ring and a silver ball piercing in her chin.

"Hi I'm Konan," she says, holding out her hand, I shake it.

"Mayumi, it's a pleasure to meet you." I reply.

"Likewise, so you're new here?"

"Yeah I just moved here from Kusogakure,"

"Cool, I moved here my freshmen year from Amegakure, it was a real change but it gets easier once you make friends."

"Yeah I already made friends with this one girl, she seems pretty nice."

"Yeah Ino-san I saw you talking with her this morning after you bumped into Sasori."

"Oh other people noticed me bumping him, now I feel embarrassed."

"Its fine, you're just lucky he didn't hurt you, he is a very violent person."

"He's all talk and no game." I say, "He wants a fight bring it on."

"Are you sure about that, he is in a gang you know." Konan says with concern in her voice.

"I'll take them all on, if anything happens to me I know a few people who would kick his ass from here to Mizukagure."

"You've got spunk I'll give you that,"

"Thanks, so what's the teacher like?"

"I had him last year, he is really rather, well see for yourself."

A tall lean man in a long beige tunic walks in, and I feel my body tense. His hair is long and greasy black, falling down to the middle of his back meeting the top of a deep knot purple scarf. Underneath the tunic he is wearing a pair of black slacks; they look like they are painted onto his legs. I feel a complete sense of shock when I notice a small eighth note symbol on the back of his tunic almost masked by his hair. At the same moment I notice it a boy with gray hair pulled back into a pony tail walks in with the same mark hidden on the back neck of his dark gray shirt. I watch the boy adjust his glasses and go to sit with a group in the back of the room. They are in a circle, two of the people whose backs are to me have the same mark on the back collar of they're shirts. I have never come across a gang run by a teacher before; this is so new to me. What other teachers here are involved in gang activity, and does Tsunade-sensei know? Do any of these people know these guys are a part of a gang? They do hide they're symbol rather well I must say. The man coughs and all of the gang turns to pay attention to him, as do the rest of the students. This confirms him as the leader, if he were a supporter than they would not care and just goof off. He has to the leader if they are paying so much attention to him, giving him so much respect, something gangs do not normally show many people.

"Welcome back to another term, I am Orochimaru-sensei. I see we have a new student among us, Natsuyo Mayumi, welcome. Now everyone shall get a biology book at the end of class, they are stalked neatly in the corner over there. To begin let us review what we know about Biology and what we shall learn." The man turns and starts to write on the board, I pull out a green notebook and take notes.

Class drones on slowly, and I feel the creepiness of the man increase with each minute he speaks about dismembering animal bodies. Like he has done such a thing before in his basement, or something sketchy like that. I try and write down what I can, skipping all of the gory details, I almost wish I could use the vegetarian excuse to get out of this class. The lesson finally ends and I stand with the rest of the students and collect my book. I write down my book number on a piece of paper and bolt out of there as fast as possible in heels. Konan walks right behind me and taps lightly on my shoulder.

"I know how you feel, the first lesson is always the worst, don't worry after a point you will be able to ignore the urge to throw up." She says, giving me a reassuring smile.

"I hope so, what class do you have next?" I ask, I would like to have her as my friend too.

"I have Gym, what do you have?"

"Aw I'm stuck in stupid Algebra 2, I hate math so much."

"You and me both, maybe I'll see you in another class hopefully, bye Mayumi-san."

"Bye Konan-san." I say as she retreats into the throng of students.

I check my map again and head up to the third floor for my Algebra class; at least I know Ino will be with me. I walk into the class and look around, Ino is nowhere in sight but I see two red clouds sitting in the back corner of the room. A skinny black haired boy with a girls figure and large black eyes sits in the far corner. He is dressed head to toe in black with the red cloud on a tie wrapped around his pale neck. Beside him is a boy dressed in black pants and a dark blue button up shirt, he has a red bandana hanging out of his back pocket with the cloud on it. The boy has blue skin and dark blue hair with pale yellow eyes, far prettier to look at than Orochimaru. He is chatting to the other while the black haired boy just nods and fiddles with the ponytail his hair is held back in. The blue haired boy looks up at me and flashes me his sharp pointy teeth, I smirk and take a seat in the third row. Students start to pile in and I nearly gag when I see a girl with bubblegum pink hair walk in. Dear lord she needs an intervention, that hair is just too much. Her outfit is a bright red tank top and a short khaki skirt; jeez what a skank I bet if she bent over you'd see her underwear, that's so wrong. She comes over and looks at the seat beside me.

"Hi can I sit next to you?" She asks, even her voice makes me want to vomit.

"No I'm saving it for someone, sorry." I say, trying to be as pleasant as possible.

"Oh well I'm Sakura," she says, taking a seat at the table in front of me.

"Cool, I'm Mayumi." I mumble, will this chick go away.

"Forehead back off your stinking up my desk with your fish breath." Ino shouts, taking the seat I saved for her.

"Go to hell Ino-pig I was talking to Mayumi not you." Sakura growls.

"Oh so you're Forehead, I can tell why Ino-chan calls you that now, it's like a billboard." I chuckle, looking at it.

"I can see Ino-pig as already corrupted you, well when you get sick of smelling shit you know where to find me Mayumi." Sakura sighs.

"Well as soon as you walk away I won't be smelling shit anymore." She squeals and stomps over to the other side of the room.

"I'm so glad you hate her too!" Ino cheers, throwing her arms around my neck, "I knew we were destined to be best friends!"

"To be honest it's hard not to hate her, I mean the girls hair is raging pink,"

"I know but it's been that color her entire life, it's so icky, like a wad of gum is stuck her head."

"Exactly, and her personality makes it seem like she is better than everyone else, not a very attractive trait."

"No it makes her uglier."

"Well now you only have to show me two people, that's cool."

"Yeah, I had my last class with him, he is so hot." She sighs, looking up with hearts in her eyes.

"Alright everyone settle down, my name is Asuma and I will be your Algebra 2 teacher for this semester. I see a few familiar faces from my Geometry class, that's good it means you all passed. But we also have a new student joining us, her name is Natsuyo Mayumi, just wave your hand, you don't have to stand up." I wave it, a small smile on my face, "Excellent, now I'm going to pass out an assignment just so I can review where you are, it isn't worth any grade so take your time."

I finish the paper in record time, I hate Algebra but it's only because I'm good at it, and it's stupid. I find that doing something tedious like Algebra is stupid, the answer is easily found, it's simple, so I hate doing it. Ino is still working on her paper, she's going at a steady pace like Asuma-sensei requested. I look around the room, Sakura is already finished with her paper and is looking rather smug, a snooty bitch with a mind, wonderful. In the back of the room the black haired male is finished, and resting his head on his outstretched palm, eyes closed. The shark like boy next to him is writing feverishly fast, then he stops and starts to scratch his head in confusion. The black haired boy whispers something to him and the shark smiles at him, and whispers a silent thank you. The raven just nods, but never once does he open his eyes. The shark gazes at the raven a little longer before turning back to his paper. It's cute really; I can tell that the shark has a crush on the raven haired boy. I turn and see Ino is done; she gives me a smile and slides a folded piece of paper towards me. I open it and read what is written on the paper:

You finished fast, are you good at math or did you half ass it?

I write back: I am good at it, but I hate it.

Yeah me to, Asuma is a great teacher so it's ok.

Cool, he have you had him before?

Yup, he was my Geometry teacher.

The class went pretty fast after that, with me and Ino passing notes back and forth half paying attention to Asuma-sensei's lesson. I walked with Ino to her next class which was English 10 then I went to the only place I could think of, the roof. The sun is shining brightly, and the sky is such a deep blue, back home it was always a lighter shade, with more clouds spreading out across the sky. I miss it, I tug lightly at my scarf, I wonder what the others are doing, they start school tomorrow. I bet they are down by the water, talking about how to make the preps miserable and hack the nerd's computers. I skip over to a bench in the corner of the chain link and sit down on it, crossing one of my legs over the other. Then I notice something I didn't before, a boy is lying down in the corner, sleeping. I freeze, examining him from afar. His hair is flaming orange, and from what I can see he has piercings traveling up his ears, in his chin, and one in his eyebrow. He is wearing a black sweatshirt and a pair of dark blue jeans, his shoes are black with red clouds on the side. Damn, he is a part of this gang too, that makes about seven members if I remember correctly. He turns over in his sleep, facing me fully now, I hope he doesn't wake up. I pull my bag closer to my side, feeling the knife in the pocket, I feel a little safer now. The door to the roof swings open and a boy in a bright blue shirt runs onto it, screaming at the top of his lungs. His hair is spiky black and his face is covered by a swirly orange mask. His pants are splattered with multiple colors, mostly from sharpies I would assume. On his wrist is a black bandana with a red cloud on it, member number eight. Behind him appears an extremely tall boy with a strange skin color, half of him is white as paper, the other half as black as ink. His hair is spiky green and his eyes a bright yellow. His shirt is navy blue and covered by a black sweat shirt, and his jeans are black denim. On his right shoulder is that red cloud again, the ninth member.

"Pein Tobi and Zetsu were sent to wake you up for Biology because Tobi is a good boy!" The boy shouts, running around the man, he stops when he notices me though, and comes running in front of me. My hands clench tightly around the knife, please don't make me pull this out.

"Who are you lady, you are really pretty, I like you, will you be Tobi's friend?" Tobi asks, not even taking a breath.

"I am Mayumi, it's nice to meet you." I say, relaxing a little.

"What are you doing up here? –**Get the fuck out of here**!- she has every right to be here as we do, -**shut the fuck up**!-" Zetsu asks, his voice changing timbre.

"Who are you?" a voice different from Zetsu and Tobi's asks. I look over to see that the orange haired boy, Pein, is up off the ground and looking at me with deep gray eyes.

"I am Mayumi, who may I ask are you?" I say, trying to not show fear, that's what they always look for.

"Nagato, but everyone calls me Pein, your new here." He says more than asks.

"Yes, I just blew into town a few days ago, not that it's any of your business." I snap, feeling my old blood begin to churn.

"You have spunk I'll give you that, you're also the one who bumped into Sasori earlier today correct?"

"You would be correct torch head," his eyes twitch a little, bringing a smirk to my lips.

"You keep this up and we'll have to make you a member."

"So you are a gang, I figured as much, but do you know about them I wonder." Thinking back onto the little music notes on the teachers back.

The bell rings and I rise to my feet, throwing my bag over my shoulder. I walk between Zetsu and Pein, heading for the stairwell. I can feel their eyes on me, wondering about me, I must say I like it.

"Bye pretty lady!" Tobi shouts, I wave but never turn, heading down the stairs, towards Ino's classroom.

"No fucking way, shut up!" Ino squeals, "I can't believe you looked at Pein without even fear, you are so cool!"

"I never said I wasn't afraid, I just didn't show it." I mumble, picking through my bento, "Now show me the boy!"

"Ok see the red head next to Sasori with the love tattoo on his head, that's Gaara." I look in that direction and see him, a boy with thick rings of kohl around his eyes and a very dark appearance. He is dressed in dark black jeans and a black t-shirt with white and red stripped sleeves covering his arms. Around his leg is a black bandana with the red clouds on it.

"He is pretty cute, very dark, he kind of reminds me of a panda." I say, taking a bite of chicken, member number ten, I wonder how many more of them there are.

"Oh hey Ino, may I sit here?" a girl with long black hair and shining blue eyes asks.

"Oh sure Haku, oh this is Mayumi, and this is Haku." Ino introduces.

"Nice to meet you," I say, admiring her thin figure in her black shirt and pretty blue jeans.

"It's nice to meet you too Mayumi, oh and before I forget I am a boy." Haku says, smiling gently.

"Oh alright, sorry I thought you were a girl for a second, thank you for correcting me."

"No problem, it happens all of the time, I look very girlish, I get it from my mother."

"Well its suits you very well, I have a friend who is very girly for a boy, we were very close before I had to move."

"So what are we talking about?" Haku asks, opening a bag of chips.

"My burning love for the boy with the love tattoo," Ino sighs, falling dramatically onto the table, "Why does he have to be so wonderfully indifferent."

"Jeez Ino, you are in a dramatic mood today," Haku giggles, holding his hand up in front of his mouth, "Oh the scorpion is looking at us, well glaring actually."

"He's glaring at me, I bumped into him this morning and now he, what the fuck is that Konan?" I ask, looking at the blue haired girl. She is sitting next to Pein, no leaning against Pein.

"Yeah she does that, She's Pein's girlfriend." Ino says.

"But in my Biology class, she doesn't have a red cloud on her clothing anywhere." I mumble out loud.

"Red cloud, well that is the Akatsuki's symbol." Ino says, sitting up.

"Well there name isn't as bad as I thought it would be."

"Have you heard better?" Haku asks, "You act like you know so much about gangs, were you perhaps involved in one?"

"Wow, you are very perceptive, I was a part of one when I lived in Kusogakure. My sister was the founder, I was going to be the leader this year but we moved. So I know a lot about gangs, but I think this school has something I've never seen before."

"Whoa you were in a gang that is so cool!" Ino squeals quietly, "maybe we should form a gang, ooh what would our name be!"

"Ino calm yourself, I don't think I want to form a gang, especially with them slinking around with a teacher." I grumble, looking over at the group with the music notes on their back.

"What do you mean; the Akatsuki is the only gang I know about." Ino mumbles.

"Then they must not be out yet, there over in the corner there, they all have music notes on their back. It's hard to see but it's there."

"Oh them," Haku whispers, looking down at his lap.

"Do you know something about them Haku?" Ino asks, leaning forward.

"Yeah, they aren't out yet, but they are working under the grid. They got Zabuza suspended last year, and he isn't allowed back in this year until Wednesday." Haku mumbles, "He's my boyfriend, I'll introduce you to him when he comes in Mayumi."

"Cool, so do you know if they have a name?"

"They're called the Sound, but they usually just call themselves Oto, they are the smart kids who no one would suspect of Gang activity, that's what makes them so dangerous."

"No what makes them dangerous is they have a fucking teacher on their side." I growl.

"No way, are you serious, who?" Ino asks.

"The biology teacher, Orochimaru. When I was on the roof and I hinted at it Pein seemed to have no idea what I was talking about. So these guys really want their entrance to be big."

"No way Orochimaru is the scariest teacher in the school, he is actually the reason I started hanging out with Zabuza. He had me stay afterschool one day and he tried to touch me, I screamed and Zabuza who was staying after in the classroom next door came in and saved me. If he hadn't been there I don't know what could have happened." Haku whispers, grabbing onto his shoulders.

I put my hand on his shoulder, "Well then how about this if you ever have to stay after and your boy isn't there Ino and I will protect you. I don't want to start another gang but if I have to I will."

"Or if you get an invitation to join Akatsuki you can get us one too!" Ino says, "I am sick of everyone thinking I am just a pretty face. I am intelligent and angry and in love with a psychotic man who is rumored to have killed people, I think I can handle being in a gang."

"Why don't you tell us about your gang Mayumi-chan, what was it like." Haku asks, "You speak so highly of it, tell us please."

A smile slides onto my face and I can't help but think of all the good times I had with my gang, my family, "Well my gang was called, The Purple Vendetta's."


	3. The Best Days are Colored Purple

Lunch ended all too quickly, but I was happy that talking about my gang made Ino and Haku like me all the more. Ino had to leave for her Biology class; Haku was with her, which left me alone to walk to my Art class. I love art, water colors were my favorite, Nori liked to work on it too. We would paint on the weekend's different designs and symbols, a lot of which were Purple Vendetta symbols that could easily be turned into spray paint drawings on walls in the school and cars. I walk into the classroom and smile at the lady standing in the front of the room. Her hair is dark purple thrown into a spiky bun and her eyes a dark black. Her outfit was a khaki jacket inches away from the floor covered in paint splatters and clay marks. Underneath her coat she is wearing a dark purple tank top and a short orange shirt with fishnet arm warmers and leggings. Well I wonder if she is fresh out of college or a woman trying way too hard.

"Are you Natsuyo Mayumi?" the woman asks, pointing at me.

"Yes I am, it is nice to meet you sensei." I reply bowing slightly.

"Don't even start with that sensei crap I'm twenty three, I'm still young. Just call me Anko and were good alright kid. Today we're just doing whatever, just try not to make too much of a mess, I want to save the messy stuff for Fridays." Anko says her tone harsh.

"Alright, thank you very much Anko." I say, and begin walking into the room, oh damn.

In the back of the room sits the little scorpion himself glaring at me, next to him is his friend who Ino identified as Deidara, speaking loudly and messing with a wad of clay. Next to them is the raven haired boy and his blue friend, I need to ask about them, it looks like there doodling on the same piece of paper, how cute. Then in the far corner is Pein and Konan, Pein is watching me fascinated and Konan waves at me with a gentle smile on her face. I give her a smile back and sit in her row in the front desk. I wonder where she keeps her water colors; I look around nervously when I hear someone sit down beside me. I look and meet the sea foam green eyes of Gaara, Ino's crush. I can now clearly see the love tattoo on his forehead; his skin is pale and makes his hair look like blood in a cute sort of way. His eyes are lovely but cold, and the kohl really does make me think of a panda. I wonder if he eats bamboo. I try not to chuckle at myself but give him a gentle smile.

"Hi, I'm Mayumi." I say.

"Gaara," he replies, voice void of emotion, "were you looking for something?"

"Oh yes I was trying to figure out where Anko stores the water colors." I reply, looking around the room.

"The cupboard over the first sink closest to her desk, the paper is there as well." He says.

"Thank you, would you like me to get you anything?" I ask.

"Just a few pieces of paper, thank you."

I get up and grab a small stack of paper and begin picking out my colors, black, purple, green, gray, maybe some sky blue. I pick out three different brush sizes and get a small cup of water before going back to the table. I hand a few pieces of regular paper to Gaara and begin to paint onto my water color paper, lucky she had a few pieces.( _I don't know much about painting so if the technique is wrong I am sorry!_) I start by drawing the background, blending the blue in the center with the gray and then blending it into the black. Then I draw in the blade, trying to make it look sharp and fierce, I want it to look like Nori's painting but I know it won't be as good. I add in the mask, trying to make it detailed, like a masquerade mask. I add a silver outline to the mask and begin to darken the mist around it, loving how wonderful it is turning out.

"It's good," Gaara says, looking at is, "I think the sword could use a little glare right here, but other than that I like it."

"Thanks, yours is good too," I say, gazing down at the dark shaded landscape at the silhouette of a girl with long hair in a ponytail blowing in the breeze, "The outline around the girls hair could be more lose and have lights going through it, to make it look more like hair."

"You are correct, thank you for the advice."

"Thank you, oh no the bell is going to ring, that's no fun." I grumble, adding silver onto the blade, smiling as it adds a glare that makes it more menacing.

"You could always stay after, a lot of the kids in the art room do, Anko doesn't care she gets involved in her artwork too. So as long as no one makes her mad we can all stay in here."

"Oh well I guess so, I can always text made dad to pick me up later." I mumble, looking down at my painting, "I guess I could stay a little longer."

A loud explosion rips through the air, I whip around to see a giant black spot on the desk in front of the blonde, he has a crazy smirk on his face, and his clay is gone. Sasori is looking at him annoyed, a scorch mark on his piece of wood, so he widdles wood. Anko walks over to them with a look of anger on her face, looks like I'm not staying after today.

"So I guess no after school time today," I whisper to Gaara, he nods and turns back to his picture erasing a small chunk of the hair and adding more strands to the section.

"Deidara what the fuck did I tell you, save the messy stuff for Friday!" Anko shrieks, "Everyone out except Deidara, you and I are going to be spending some time together!"

The bell rings and Gaara shows me the cubbies where everyone stores there art, I put mine next to his and put all of my supplies away. I walk out of the room, Gaara walking with me; the silence is comforting until Ino comes up with a distressed look on her face. When she sees Gaara she freezes and stares at him like he is a god, he looks back at her, a small red blush touching one of his ears. I knew the girl in the picture was Ino, Gaara whispers a quick goodbye and walks away, towards where the gang is standing, all of them looking at me.

"So Ino before you were distracted by Panda-chu, what is it that you wanted to tell me?" I ask, turning to look at her.

"His eyes are so sea foamy," She sighs, I snap my fingers in front of her face, "Oh Haku got detention is Orochimaru's class today after school, I'm worried about him."

"That can't be good, let's see what we can do about that." I look up to see Orochimaru walking by, an evil smirk on his face, I stick my foot out in front of his legs and trip him, watching as he falls to the ground.

"Why did you just trip my child?" He shouts, glaring at me.

"Because I wanted to see what you will do." I say with a smirk.

"Well then, how about a detention with me today after school?" he asks, his eyes widening with pleasure, gross.

"If you think that is necessary sir," I say the sir as sarcastically as possible.

"I do, be in my classroom in five minutes Ms. Natsuyo." He then turns on his heels and marches away, the Akatsuki follow him down the hall then look back at me dumbfounded.

"Well that wasn't so hard, now Haku is going to be safe and sound with me." I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Did you tell her what happened?" Haku asks, looking down at his shoes, "About how I'm going to get attacked by a psychotic pedophile."

"Well If I were a psychotic pedophile I'd find it hard to rape a student with a second student present in the classroom," I chuckle, "personally it would turn me off."

"No way you got detention too, what did you do?" Haku asks eyes wide.

"Well Ino told me what happened and the snake himself was waltzing by so my foot happened to fall in front of him and he fell to the ground. Needless to say he was upset and in his rage gave me a detention. Now tell me why did he give you detention cutie?"

"I was taking the notes to slow." He says, "He was really close standing next to me and I got nervous and broke my pencil."

"Well then that's a stupid reason to get detention_, _but I digress," I say, I turn facing the Akatsuki who is still watching me like hawks and hold out my arm to Haku, "Would you care to accompany me to Detention cutie?"

"My hero, of course I would," Haku says, linking his arm in mine.

"I'll wait for you guys in the library alright," Ino asks.

"We will see you after our date Ino, bye." I shout, and we begin to walk to detention, arms linked.

Haku is clutching my hand under the table, he is really nervous about being stuck in this room, especially when said teacher is glaring at me like he wishes my head would explode. I give Haku's hand a squeeze and his death grip on my hand loosens just a little. I have been in a situation similar to this before, only it was my mother and she was glaring at Nori and I because we walked into the house at three in the morning. She was not happy with our excuse that we went to see the midnight viewing of The Rocky Horror Picture show, although that was part of the truth. It's just that afterwards we had a fight with the Green Giants about the movie theater being our turf not there's. We won of course, but I got a cut on my shoulder, and mom was wondering why I was out so late at only thirteen years old. My sister was already training me to be just like her, hard, tough, a good liar. But this was different than facing my mother; this was a teacher who was a pedophile and a possible gang leader.

"So how long does this usually last?" I ask, we had already been sitting here for a half hour.

He glares at me and does not answer, turning his gaze over to Haku, who doesn't show is fear, but clings to my hand. I grip his hand back, trying to remind him that he is not alone. I harden my gaze and glare at him, until he turns to look back at me. His eyes are disgusting, and I can see a hidden pleasure lurking in them, like he is going to get off on this moment, which disgusts me but I can't look away. I keep staring, hoping to weaken him; if he looks away he will send us out of here. I grip tighter to Haku's hand, knowing I cannot look at him until Orochimaru turns is gaze away. Come on look away you slimy fucking bastard. A knock breaks the air and Orochimaru looks away, his teeth clenched, he knows he lost; I lean back and give Haku a smile. Anko enters the room with an angry look on her face, walking right towards the snake's desk.

"We have a teachers meeting now, what are you a fucking idiot. Let's go all detentions are over, so you kids clear out." Anko yells pointing her thumb towards the door.

"Don't have to tell us twice." I say, grabbing Haku's hand and pulling him out of the room, "Bye!" We run halfway to the library, giggling all the way.

"Did you see his face when we left, you didn't even give him time to yell at us!" Haku shouts, "Zabuza is going to be so happy that I'm safe, he is going to like you right away."

"I hope so, shall we go meet Ino and get something to drink, I am rather parched from my intense glaring session with Mr. Pedophile." I declare, speaking in a pompous British accent.

"Yes let me buy you a drink my hero, you were so brave walking into battle with not but your fierce eyes to protect us!" Haku shouts, in British, smiling brightly.

"Hey guys I'm glad you're ok, they kicked me out of the library because of the Teachers meeting." Ino says, running up to us.

"Awesome, so are there any places in town where we can get a good drink, a milkshake maybe?" I ask, "Haku is going to buy me one for saving him from ."

"Yeah we can go to the Tea Shoppe; they have all sorts of drinks and snacks." Ino says, "It's not that long of a walk let's go!"

We link our arms together and begin walking out of the school, I kept having this feeling that someone was watching me but I ignored it. To happy that I already had two great friends after only one day of school.

Unknown P.O.V.

"She knows of our existence, Master will not be pleased." A dark voice says, pushing a strand of white hair out of his face.

"Well obviously he is going to be fucking ticked, some new chick walks in and realizes right away that were a fucking gang, who the fuck is this bitch?" A high voice asks, slamming her hand onto the desk next to her.

"Calm yourself, Her name is Natsuyo Mayumi, She comes from Kusogakure, I will look up more information on her later, but for right now we need to make do with what the school has." A voice in the corner states, adjusting his glasses with his middle finger. "Besides she is only a mere dot on our map, we have a whole organization to take down first."

"Oh but that will be easy," another figure says, "Especially since we have our new secret weapon." Laughter fills the empty classroom, a figure in the back of the room with black eyes remains silent, but a smirk is evident on his lips.

Akatsuki P.O.V.

"What do you guys think of the new girl?" Pein asks, picking up and taking a sip of his tea.

"I hate her," Sasori groans, "I want to turn her into a puppet."

"Oh calm down Sempai, Tobi thinks Mayumi-chan is super cute, can she join?" Tobi asks, bouncing around with a glass of milk in his hands, spilling it on the table every time he bounced.

"I agree with Tobi, and she is really nice, I don't see why we can't have her join." Konan says, taking a bite of her soft serve, "Besides she already hates the Pedophile."

"Yeah you have to admit when she tripped Orochimaru it was the funniest thing I've ever seen, un." Deidara chuckles, playing with his empty cappuccino cup.

"She is also good at art, and she is friends with Ino and Haku. We've wanted to get Zabuza in our group, if we make an agreement and play our cards right we get four new members." Gaara says, taking a bite of his cookie.

"Four fucking new members, god we're going to need to invest in a bigger fucking house to meet in." Hidan shouts, stabbing his jelly donut into pieces.

"I don't like the idea of having to spend more money." Kakuzu growls, stealing a piece of Hidan's mutilated donut.

" YOU NEVER LIKE SPENDING MONEY YOU DAMN MISER, Adding members could lower the amount we can spend." Zetsu says, "But it may be nice to add a few more members, WHO FUCKING CARES ABOUT SPENDING MONEY, ADDING MORE PEOPLE WILL MAKE US STRONGER."

"And it would be nice to add more girls into the group, I'm sick of going to girls night out by myself," Konan says, adding a no offense Itachi in her head.

"What do you think Itachi?" Kisame asks, looking down at the Weasel.

"Hn." Itachi says, munching on a piece of dango.

"Alright we'll keep a close eye on them and-"

"I don't want her in the group!" Sasori growled, slamming his hand against the table.

"Oh Sasori lighten up, geez, you keep acting like that and were going to assume you have a crush on her." Konan chuckles.

"There is no way in hell I would ever-"

"Oh look, speak of the devil," Pein says, just as Mayumi walks into the Tea Shoppe, Ino and Haku following behind her.

"Great" Sasori grumbles, leaning back into his chair, "Just fucking great."

Mayumi's P.O.V.

I walked into the Tea Shoppe, enjoying the strong aroma of tea that filled my nostrils. I walked up to the counter and looked up at the menu, oh how fancy they have iced hot chocolate.

"It's on me," Haku says, "It's the least I could do,"

"Alright, but I'm buying my own snack." I say, we order and claim a table in the corner, that's when I notice the Akatsuki is there.

"Great, we just keep meeting up with them." I mumble, taking a bite of my maccha cake.

"Oh look on the bright side," Ino sighs, "I get to look at Gaara eating a cookie."

Haku giggles and takes a sip of his hot chocolate, "Well at least she is happy about seeing them."

"Do you not like them Haku-chan?" I ask, taking a sip of my iced hot chocolate.

"They keep trying to get Zabuza to join, and I can't help but get worried about him. I don't think they'd let me join because I'm so girly at times."

"Well there missing out," I pout, "Ino honey you're drooling all over your cookies, why don't you eat them, Gaara seems to like them."

She automatically begins to munch on them, but her eyes never leave the emo panda's, well until he looks up at her and she automatically hides herself behind her Mocha-chino. I giggle, looking over my shoulder at the group, there all chatting and seem to be happy, like a family? I wonder what my family is doing right now, probably hanging at the movie theater teaching the newbie's what it really means to be a vendetta. God I need to stop getting all nostalgic, oh look there's the scorpion glaring at me, what a tool.

"Hey Mayumi-chan, your phone is ringing," Haku says, pointing at my bag.

I pull out my cell phone smiling as the song I'm a gangster plays, I flip open my phone and pull it up to my ear, "Hello?"

"Oh Mayumi I'm glad you answered, where are you?" Dad asks.

"Oh I went to the Tea Shoppe with a few friends, I sent you a text, didn't you get it?" I ask.

"I don't think, oh wait yes I did, well I am going to the store and on the way back I'll pick you up in front of the shop ok, Your mother and I have a surprise for you when you get home."

"Ok Daddy, text me when your outside." I say, we say our goodbyes and I click my phone shut.

"Your ringtone is funny."Ino chuckles, "I haven't heard that song in ages."

"Thanks, it's a personal favorite of mine."

"I think its lame," a voice from behind me says, I turn to see Sasori, flanked by Kakuzu and Hidan.

"Well obviously you have never heard of comedy fire crotch." I say, smirking as his face turns red.

"I fucking like this broad!" Hidan shouts, holding out his knuckles, I bump them, "Fire crotch, I wish I had thought of that one."

"Oh you can think?" Kakuzu asks, rolling his dark green eyes.

"Oh fuck of Kakuzu, this broad tells a funny fucking joke and you don't even laugh, you're such an ass." Hidan groans, crossing his arms.

"So is there a reason you three came over here?" Ino asks, obviously irritated that the trio is blocking her view of Gaara.

"We were wondering where the freshmen came from." Sasori answers, putting a bored look on his face.

"For your information I'm a junior," I sigh with irritation, "and if it will get you to walk away I'm from Kusogakure."

"You're not a junior, your way to short." Sasori says a smirk on his lips.

"Oh your one to fucking talk you're like a shrimp, obviously you never drank milk as a child."I growl, feeling my irritation rise.

"Want to say that to my face?" Sasori growls, leaning forward.

"You do not want to fight me dude I will fucking kill you," I whisper lowly, I'm glad I wore pointed heels today.

"No I don't, it wouldn't just be against my morals to make a girl cry."

"You sexist bitch," I shout, standing up, "I never cry, never have, never will, but I swear to god I will make you cry." I go to punch him but Ino grabs my arm, stopping me.

"Let's just go, he isn't worth, I mean he didn't even have the balls to confront you on his own." Ino says in the condescending tone she only speaks to Sakura with.

"Oh blonde has you there Fire Crotch," Hidan chuckles.

"Don't get involved in this bimbo, I only want to-" his speech is stopped as Haku slams his cake into Sasori's face.

"Oh I'm sorry, I though you asked for a slice," Haku says with mock innocence, "I'd offer to help clean you up but I'm allergic to assholes, ladies shall we go."

"I believe we shall, good day to you mousier asshole." I say in a French accent.

We leave, smiling as we leave; Hidan is laughing his ass off at Sasori, whose face is red with anger and embarrassment. We sit on the granite bench outside, laughing about Sasori and sipping on the last of our drinks.

"We should come back here tomorrow, the food is good. Hopefully the scorpling will leave us alone." I grumble, sipping at the last of my frozen hot chocolate.

"Scorpling, I like it, that will be our code name for him." Haku chuckles.

"Oh can Gaara's be the super hottest man in the universe?" Ino asks with love in her eyes.

"Ino calm down, his code name is Panda-chu," I say, "I actually had art with him and I have a sneaking suspicion that he likes you."

"Really?" Ino asks, her eyes filling up with joy, "Do you really think so." Her tone is different, like she is very insecure about how much she likes him.

"Yes, so stop with the obsessing ok Hon?"

"Alright I will," Ino says, blushing lightly.

"Oh my Dad is here, see you guys tomorrow." I shout, running over to his car.

"Bye Mayumi!" they shout, I wave goodbye as my Dad drives us back home.

"So those are you friends?" Dad asks, smiling at me.

"Yeah Ino and Haku, they are great."I gush, smiling down at my lap, "I'm so glad I met them."

"I'm glad you've made friends honey, so are you excited about your present?"

"What is it tell me, tell me! Is it a talking squirrel or better yet, a talking hedge hog?" I ask, bouncing up and down.

"No, now close your eyes; I want it to be a surprise." I cover my eyes with my hands and wait patiently.

I wonder when we're going to get home, or what if he isn't taking me home. What if I am being kidnapped by a dad look alike and being taken to a secret facility in Russia!

"Ok you can open your eyes," I open them and my eyes meet a purple car, a purple fucking car, pulled up next to mom's black lexus.

"You bought me a car, a purple car, I HAVE A PURPLE CAR!" I scream, jumping out of the car and running towards it.

"It's a hybrid, we found it cheap and you've had your license for six months now and no car to drive so we decided since we had a little money to spend that we'd get it for you," Mom says, walking out from behind my car.

"I love you guys so much!" I scream hugging the car, "Best day ever!"


	4. The Offer

I adjust my purple fishnet tights under my dark jean shorts; I decided on my knee high converse heels today, I don't want to reveal how short I really am to that bastard Sasori. I decided to wear my short sleeve dark green sweater the top rolled down to reveal my shoulders. I left my hair down with my little braid running through it, and throw on some purple eye shadow, because I felt like it. Now all I need to do is grab my car keys, I still can't believe my parents bought me a car. I walk down the stairs and smile at the cup of coffee mom left out for me by my car keys. I take a sip and slip the piano key lanyard with my car keys on it around my neck, adjusting my vendetta scarf underneath it. I grab my purple bag and check to make sure my homework for history and wallet is in my bag before walking out the door, locking it behind me. Mom and Dad had to go to work early today, so that left me alone to do my morning routine. I walk out to my car, smiling at the dark purple color, I love my life. I hop into the front seat and plug in my mp3 player into the cassette slot and start the car, smiling as Rihanna's voice begins to sing through my speakers.

"Feel it coming through the air, and there's screams from everywhere." I sing along with the words, wait until Haku and Ino see this.

I drive through town and finally pull up to the school just as Hollywood Undead begins to blast through my speakers; I park my car in a spot in the student parking lot. I shut my off car and collect my stuff, hoping that I won't have to confront Sasori to early today. I begin walking towards the front entrance of the school where I first met Ino, hopefully she will be there. I feel a pair of arms wrap around my arm and I turn to see Haku hugging me with a smile on his face. His hair is pulled back into a bun with his bangs falling into his face. He's wearing a dark blue sweater that goes down past his knees with black leggings on underneath and converse.

"Morning cutie, I like your threads," I say, putting my hand on my hip.

"Thanks you look pretty cute yourself, I saw you pull in, I didn't know you had a car." Haku says.

"Yeah my parents actually gave it to me yesterday, isn't it awesome!" I gush, "And it's purple, hey let's find Ino I can't wait to tell her."

We walk further into the school yard and look around for her, but I couldn't find our blonde friend anywhere. I started to get worried, it's only the second day of school she couldn't be sick already right? Then I see her running in from across the street of the school, I run up to meet her, Haku at my heels.

"Hey your late, is something wrong?" I ask when I notice her eyes are slightly red.

"Nothing I'm fine," she says, adjusting her close fitting long sleeved black t-shirt.

Her hair is pulled into a ponytail of course and her shirt has a small dip in the neck. She is wearing a bright purple skirt with a pair of bright blue fishnets underneath. On her feet are a pair of ballet flats.

"Hon are you sure you're ok?" I ask, reaching out to touch her face, she flinches and steps back.

"I'm fine, let's go to class, History right, I did my homework what about you?"

"Ino are you sure you're ok?" Haku asks, "You're really starting to scare me."

"I'm fine, just really tired," the bell rings before we can ask her more, she pushes past us and begins walking towards the door.

"I have first block with her, I'll see if I can figure anything out." I say to Haku, he nods and we split apart.

Ino is already in her seat, looking at her lap quietly. I take my seat beside her and let the silence settle around us, wondering if I should bring it up so soon or just let it simmer for a minute. After five minutes pass I cannot handle it anymore and I turn to her to ask her what is wrong, but she beats me to the punch.

"I just had a fight with my Dad ok, no big deal." She whispers, pulling her homework out of her bag, "a lot of people fight with their parents it's no big deal, ok?"

"If you really think it's no big deal Ino." I whisper.

"Well it isn't, so can we please not talk about this anymore." She snaps and turns to the front of the room where Iruka- sensei now stands.

The class turns in their homework and then Iruka begins a conversation about what we will start with and end with. Ino doesn't talk at all but she begins to perk up, like a wilted flower after getting watered. Sasori glares at my back the entire class, but I do not give him the satisfaction of turning around. The bell rings and I walk Ino to her next class, she gives me a small smile and I walk to my Biology class, scared out of my mind at what Orochimaru could say to me. I walk in and take my seat next to Konan, who gives me a giant smile. She looks nice today, her hair is the same, but it suits her. She's wearing a navy blue shirt with a short leather jacket over it, a pair of ripped up leggings with a black and blue checkerboard skirt over it.

"So your Pein's girlfriend." I say.

"Yes." She blushes, looking down at her lap.

"And you are also a member of the Akatsuki."

"Yes, I'm sorry I did not tell you." She whispers.

"No its fine, I was just surprised that you don't have anything on your person that reveals you are in the gang." I say.

"Well I have a tattoo of the symbol on my left hip." She says, giggling slightly, "Red doesn't go very well with my color scheme."

"Cool, I have a tattoo as well."

"Hello class, we shall pick up where we left off on our notes, everyone take them out and make sure you have a pencil or some other writing utensil." Orochimaru states irritated, he turns towards the white board and I can see that damned eighth note on the back of his neck.

The class moves slow, and every time he walks by me I can feel him glaring darkly, like he wishes to kill me. Konan gives me sympathetic looks whenever we get a spare moment, but other than that I am on my own trying not to look intimidated. The class finally ends and I try to run out as fast as possible, until the snake calls my name. I turn back towards him, letting everyone else leave the room.

"Yes Sensei?" I ask, digging my fingernails into my palm.

"I need you to make up the rest of your detention afterschool with me today, tell Haku as well, now leave."

I walk out of the door and quickly head to Algebra 2, never have I been happier for a math class in my entire life. Ino is already at her seat, Sakura speaking in her disgusting voice, walk to her hearing the last of Sakura's words.

"Aw did you realize you were ugly this morning, took you long enough," Sakura snickers.

"No she started crying because she was laughing so hard because you thought you could actually pull of that outfit. I mean you look like you belong in a trailer park." I say, looking at her checker board shorts that are way too short for school.

"Oh go fuck yourself Mayumi; you're not cool at all." Sakura shrieks and walks away.

"Hey are you ok?" I ask.

"Yeah, I'm just too tired to deal with her right now," Ino says, leaning onto her palm, "How was Biology with Mr. Pedo?"

"I have to stay after school with him today," I say in a deadpan, "Haku too, I'm really not happy about it."

"That sucks; I'll wait in the library for you guys again, alright?" She asks, her voice sounding bubbly, almost back to normal.

"Alright, oh I never got to tell you, my parents bought me a car, after we get out of detention I'll show you." I say, smiling.

"Awesome, we should go to the movies today, there is this one new movie-" and the conversation headed in a happy direction from there. Ino acted as if she was never depressed in the first place, and gushed about how hot Gaara looked in Gym today. It was nice, math was simple, we started going over graphing algebraic expressions, really just review. I watched Itachi speaking lightly with Kisame in the back of the room, Ino told me there names finally. They looked so cute sitting next to each other, I wonder if they're going out. The class ended quickly and after walking Ino to her class I went up to the roof. Not surprising at all was the fact that Pein was once again sleeping in the corner. His shirt is black with a red cloud right in the center, a leather jacket under his head. His jeans are black and not a single tear in them, his piercings gleam in the sunlight. I sat in the corner and pulled out my History homework, a multiple choice work sheet covering everything we would learn in history. I was already on number 58 out of 100, so I think I'm going to pass this class.

"So were you in a gang in Kusogakure?" Pein asks, I look up startled that he was awake.

"Why would you think I was in a Gang?" I question, pushing my chin down against my vendetta scarf.

"Well you identified us as a gang, which means you know that gangs typically have some sort of symbol on their body. You understand how body language can determine whether you're weak or not. The whole time you were fighting with Sasori you never took a step away from him, and you asserted yourself when it counted. So I'm wondering, were you in a gang, or just very close to one?" Pein says, sitting up from the ground and leaning against the chain link fence surrounding the roof.

"Why do you need to know if I was or not?" I ask, "Thinking of converting me to your little club?"

"Maybe, but you also said something yesterday that peeked my interest in you." He leans forward, gray eyes almost spinning, "you said I wonder if you know about them, who is them?"

"So you really don't know." I whisper, "should I tell you is the real question."

"What do you want in exchange for your information?" Pein asks, "I can offer you a place in our gang, even a place for your two friends Haku and Ino. I can offer you money, a place to stay if your home is inconvenient, a family even. I just want to know if there is another gang out there threatening my family."

"You have deep care for that which you have created, I respect that," I say, I almost tell him about it until the roof door slams open and the Scorpling comes up, followed by Hidan.

Sasori sees me and we begin to glare at one another. His shirt is dark brown with a black vest over it. His jeans are blue with rips on the knees and a red cloud patch on a scarf around his neck. I narrow my eyes at him, standing to my feet.

"What are you doing here?" he questions, arrogance in his voice.

"Last I checked it was a free country and I can stand wherever the fuck I want," I growl, pulling my bag onto my shoulder.

"Hey it's the badass chick that called you a fire-crotch, hey Shorty what's up?" Hidan asks, waving his hand at me.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't call me Shorty but thank you for the praise. Now if you don't mind I have lunch in about five minutes so I don't have time to play with you tools." I say, cocking out my hip.

"Wait," Pein shouts as I begin to walk for the door, "Think about my proposal at least."

"I may take you up on your bargain, but I may need more than your word to convince me." I chuckle, "Tata for now boys."

Akatsuki's P.O.V.

"I almost did it Konan, I almost found out about the other gang, but then Sasori had to come and ruin it," Pein growled, stabbing at the mashed potatoes on his plate.

"Not my fault she is such a bitch," Sasori grumbled, taking a swig out of his water bottle.

"No but you know the gang would benefit with her and her friends in it," Pein growled, "And she has information about another gang in school, one we don't know about."

"Do you really think there is another gang besides us?" Kisame asks, looking over at Itachi.

"It's possible, strange that they have stayed hidden for so long." The weasel replies, munching on a piece of cookie.

"It's a strange concept yes, but we have reason to believe Mayumi was in a gang herself. If that's true than she knows about other gangs, if she knows about a gang we don't know about there is a problem." Konan protests, "We need her on this team, no questions asked."

"I have not found anything weird in the student database, JUST THE NORMAL CROP OF ASSHOLES." Zetsu growls, switching personalities, "None of the other students stick out."

"But Tobi thinks if Mayumi says there is another gang then there is!" Tobi shouts, stealing Zetsu's milk when he isn't looking.

"She doesn't seem like much of a liar, and she is pretty hardcore too, un." Deidara cheers.

"I don't like her," Sasori growls, slamming his hands against the table, "What's there to like about her."

"Her personality is fucking funny as hell, she can make you so angry its comical, she has style obviously, I mean those shoes she is wearing are hot. And did I mention she pisses you off?"Hidan smirks, nudging Kakuzu's shoulder.

"We already have enough annoying people in this group, do we really need more?" Kakuzu asks, nudging Hidan back roughly.

"We need secret members; we won't have to hang out with them at lunch or anything during school. But we can meet on the weekends and exchange information; it's really not that big a deal." Konan says, "Besides if we have more people we can take turns on who goes out fighting and collecting information and who stays home instead of risking the lives of our members."

"Konan has a point, so I don't care if you like or hate them, they are going to be a part of this team, is that clear?" Pein asked a deep authority in his tone.

"Yes," everyone agreed, although Sasori looked like he would rather cut his own throat.

Mayumi's P.O.V.

"So wait Pein offered us positions in Akatsuki too?" Ino asked, blue eyes shimmering with excitement, "Shut up!"

"That would be the coolest thing ever, all of us in Akatsuki together." Haku smiled, "Then I wouldn't need to worry about Zabuza, because I'd be a member too!"

"I'm glad you guys are so excited, but I'm really on the fence about it." I mumble, picking at my school lunch, I think the meatloaf just moved, "I just left town, do I really want to join a gang the second day of school?"

"How about this, we discuss it with Zabuza tomorrow, and we can decide and give them an answer next week." Haku says, "No pressure, it's your decision not ours."

"Gaara looks so irresistible today, red is so his color." Ino drools, I have to agree with her though, his red short-sleeved shirt is tight fitting, and his sleeves of fishnet make him look rather edgy, his pants are black with cut marks on the knees. He looks up with his kohl black eyes, meets eyes with Ino and automatically ducks down, the tips of his ears red.

"Oh no he saw me, damn it!" Ino cries, her face turning as red as Gaara's hair, "He must think I'm such a creep!"

"Calm the drama Ino, why are you freaking out anyway?" a voice asks from behind me, I look behind me to see a boy with spiky blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes.

"Oh Naruto how are you?" Haku asks, "Take a seat, how was your summer?"

"It was great, I finally got adopted by Jiraiya, took the old bastard long enough." The blonde says, sitting down beside me, he is kind of cute with those whisker marks on his cheeks. His shirt is bright orange and pants a tight black, I bet he has a boyfriend, he just screams uke.

"How are things going with Sasuke?" Haku asks, smiling at the blush that rises on Naruto's face.

"Well this summer was great but a few weeks ago he started getting distant, I don't know what's wrong with him anymore." Naruto groans, putting his head on the table, "I need to get a boyfriend that actually gives a shit."

"What about Sai?" Ino suggests, pointing to a boy with short cut black hair sitting near Sakura, ew how can he stand the smell?

"Hell no he insults my.. My little friend, hangs around with Sakura, and is way too much like Sasuke." Naruto sighs, "The only other people in the school who I would want to date are Gaara and you Haku, but Gaara is straight and you're taken."

"Gaara is mine, I called him like forever ago," Ino states, "Anyway what about Deidara, I heard a humor that he bats for the other team, he's completely different from Sasuke, and he is pretty hot."

"He is a hot piece of man cake," Haku chuckles, looking over at the blonde, "After Zabuza and you Naruto I would go for him."

"He is hot," Naruto chuckles, "But I've wanted Sasuke since middle school and now I finally have him. Maybe I'll just talk with him and see if I can work things out."

"Alright, hey you're the new girl right, the one who bumped into Sasori yesterday right?" Naruto asks, looking over at me.

"Is that the only way people know me, geez is it really that big a deal to bump into the scorpling?" I ask, looking at the three.

"Yeah pretty much, the last kid who did it wound up in the nurses office, then he transferred to a different school," Ino says, "He has quite a reputation."

"So It would seem, that's probably the only thing that makes me not want to accept." I say, not wanting to reveal the details to Naruto, I don't even know him.

"Understandable, so how was biology with Mr. Pedo?" Haku asks, taking a sip out of his milk.

"Shit I almost forgot, that bastard gave us fucking detention after school again today." I groan, slamming my head against the table, "We are so going to have a bad day today,"

"Damn this sucks, I hate this, he is just trying to ruin my life." Haku groans, "I can't wait until Zabuza comes back, he's going to be in Biology with Ino and I."

"I feel for you guys, that guy gives me the creeps, especially the looks he gives Sasuke in the hallway when he walks by." Naruto whimpers, "To be honest it really scares me."

"Well Naruto do you want to come to the movies with us, we're meeting up with Ino after our detention." I ask, "We're meeting her in the library, I'm sure she could use some company."

"Sure, I actually have some questions about Geometry, I'm failing." Naruto chuckles, scratching the back of his head.

"But it's only the second day of school!" Ino exclaims, leaning forward.

"I know," Naruto moans, tears in the corners of his eyes, "Why does school have to be so hard!"

"I'll help you calm down, just don't bring Sasuke, he's such a killjoy," Ino grumbles, the bell rings and we all head to our classes.

I pull out my painting from yesterday and another piece of paper to paint on, since I am mostly done with my painting from yesterday. Gaara is already at our table, drawing on a new piece of paper, I go to collect some water colors from the closet when Sasori comes up next to me with an annoyed look on his face.

"Could you pass me the wood glue?" He asks, pointing to a container of glue.

"I didn't hear a please," I sing, giggling as his faces conforms into an angry face.

"Please," he hisses.

"Please what?"

"Please could you pass me the fucking wood glue."

"Alright, jeez somebody forgot to take her Midol," I chuckle, handing him the bottle; he rips it out of my hand and stomps away.

I pull out the rest of my new color palette and paint and walk over to Gaara, he already has a sketch of two little kids standing hand in hand. One has spiky hair like his, and the other a ponytail, short but similar to Ino's. Again he is doing it in a shadow effect, probably because I'm friends with Ino and he likes the style. It fits his personality I suppose, dark and mysterious, just what Ino likes. I add the last details onto my Vendetta symbol and then move onto my new piece. I begin to draw out my house from memory. Remembering the crack in the roof, and the busted porch roof where Nori and I would sneak out from. The busted up blue window boxes, and the crooked front door that Dad could just never fix. The picture comes together and I feel a deep home sickness hit my stomach, I really miss this place. Gaara looks over at my painting and smiles, a very small one, but a smile regardless. I look over at his drawing once again and see that he has drawn in the clothing on the children, and they are facing what could be the moon or the sun, I am not certain. The two are holding hands, and they look like they are running forward towards the moon/sun.

"I love it," I whisper, "do you ever color them in?"

"I think I might color this one in, just because I don't want the moon to be a crescent, its prettier when it's full. Is that your old home?"

"Yes, I miss it; it was cozy and safe, although I never really spent a lot of time in it."

"What did you do?"

"Hung out with my friends and such," not really wanting to reveal my gang activity.

"Class is almost over, want to pack up or are you going to stay?" Gaara asks, darkening a tree in the background of the picture.

"I wish I could but I have detention, I really need to buy some art supplies, know anywhere I can get some?"

"Yeah there is an art shop by the movie theater on North Street."

"Awesome, I'll get some today."

We put away our art pieces and the bell rang, I met up with Haku and hand in hand we walked to detention, scared out of our minds. Yesterday was the worst, I could hardly keep my entire cool, I couldn't even control the trembling in my knees, let alone provide support for Haku. I turn to Haku before we enter the classroom, looking deep into his eyes.

"You need to not show any fear, don't shake, clench my hand if you need to alright. Never look him in the eye, I will do that, ok cutie be strong and we will get out of this faster." He nods, his face becoming blank.

We walk into the room and take our seat at the desk we sat in the day before. Our hands clutch onto each other and I begin to glare at my desk, ignoring the fiery glare Orochimaru is giving me. He stands from his desk and begins to walk around the room, as he starts to walk towards our desk; I release Haku's hand after giving it one tight squeeze.

"Who gave you permission to leave?" Orochimaru asks, standing in front of us, "Because I did not."

"Anko-sensei told us to leave, so we left Sensei, we are sorry we did not listen for your dismissal." I say in a calm steady voice, "It will not happen again."

"No it won't because I am going to teach you a lesson." Orochimaru turns, but I see an evil glint in his eye as he begins walking towards the front of the room, "If teachers were still allowed to hit they're students I would, but I think I have a better idea. I'm going to have you dissect a few of my lab rats; you will have to kill them yourself of course." I clench Haku's hand and Squeeze, I had a feeling was about to become a vegetarian.

"Excuse me Orochimaru-sensei but I need to discuss something with you." A boy with gray hair pulled back into a pony tail says, adjusting his glasses with his middle finger. He is one of the ones in my Biology class, he has a music note on him, he is one of Orochimaru's.

"I see," Orochimaru turns to us with a slight pout on his face, "Well detention is over, don't do this again or I really will have you dissecting live rats." Haku and I nod and bolt from the class, running all the way to the library.

"Thank god for Kabuto-sempai" Haku cries, "We're lucky we got out of there."

"He's…" I mumble, remember the casual look he threw me when he adjusted his glasses.

"What Kabuto, he is a straight A student, he's one of Orochimaru's favorites." Haku says, "What about him?"

"He's one of Orochimaru's, he has the music note on him." Haku's eyes widen, and I stare grimly at the ground, the good students aren't as good as they appear.


	5. Help Wanted: Must annoy other employees

I park my car in the back of the movie theater, Naruto and Haku are sitting in the back quietly and Ino I staring at her lap in shock. I broke the news to them on the way, and it shocked them all, including Naruto who we filled in on the whole situation, he was pretty cool about it. I described a few of the people I had seen with the Music notes on them, Haku was in shock. He had known the group existed but never knew about the members. All of them were honor roll students, the best and brightest, the nerds. This was different then at my school, everyone was in a gang at my school and the teachers knew about it, they just weren't allowed to pick favorites.

"So what movie do you want to see Ino?" I ask, getting out of the car.

"Comedy, I need to laugh at something right now." Ino sighs, "And candy, lots of sugary by products."

"I'll pay the tickets," I say, "Who's buying the drinks?"

"I will, Naruto why don't you help pay for the tickets and Haku can pay for the drinks," Ino suggests.

"That sounds good to me," Naruto says, "Let's go see Ninja Farce, Kiba said he saw it Saturday with Shino and It was hilarious."

"Any objections?" Haku asks, no one disagrees, "Well let's go, is everyone ok with lemonade?"

"Sounds good to me," I say, everyone else agrees and we split into our groups to go buy everything.

The movie was fantastic;it had the stupidest female heroine I've ever seen. She reminded me of Sakura so much that we all agreed to start calling her by the name the males in the movie called her. Sakura was now dubbed The BonerSmasher. We got a laugh out of that one, the others then left, deciding to go for a cup of coffee; I told them I would meet them after I bought my art supplies. I left my car in the movie theater parking lot and headed next door to the art shop. It wasn't too small and I smiled as the smell of paints entered my nose. I headed into the water color section of paints and began to pick out some colors, I would get paper after. After collecting all of my colors I walk over and pick up a few different sizes of watercolor paper, and even a few sheets of rice paper. My arms now full of art supplies I walk over to the counter and put all of my stuff down, no one is there. I ring the bell and wait patiently; humming along with the song the speakers are playing. Out of the back room comes Sasori, he doesn't realize it's me for a few seconds, but then he freezes. His face falls into an annoyed look.

"Hey girly, have you ever considered birth control, it will really help with those cute little mood swings you seem to have." I say, smirking widely.

"Did you find everything ok," He says through gritted teeth, scanning my items.

"I like the customer service, but shouldn't you be smiling?" I ask, giving him an innocent look.

He smiles, teeth still gritted, "will that be cash or debit?"

"Cash thank you very much, oh is that a help wanted sign?" his eyes widen and I feel giddy with excitement, "May I have an application?"He frowns deeply, and hands me one, taking my money and giving me change. "What discounts do you get working here?"

"25% off all items and on your birthday you can get anything in the store for free." He says in a defeated tone.

"Cool, I'll drop my application off tomorrow, bye Scorpling." I take my bag and application and walk out of the store, listening as Sasori swears about me under his breath.

I throw all of my stuff into the passenger side of my car and begin to drive down to the Tea Shoppe. I quickly park in the small side parking lot, hoping that I didn't take too long getting here. I throw my keys around my neck and lock my car before walking in. I get there just in time to see Naruto in a fight with a boy with short raven hair and looks similar to Itachi. The boy looks like he has a chicken butt for hair, and his style is way to lame for my taste. Black jeans, shoes, black t-shirt with black jacket, black fishnet gloves, he really needs to throw some color into his wardrobe, I mean his hair and eyes are black!

"Why do you need to know where I am 24/7, is it a crime for me to see a movie and get a coffee with my friends, You haven't talked to me all day and then you come waltzing in wondering where I have been?" Naruto shouts, pointing his finger at who I can only assume is Sasuke's chest, "I am not a pet or a toy Uchiha, I am a fucking person." Oh he's Itachi's brother, I see it.

"Your cheating on me aren't you, I always knew you were nothing but a cheap-"

"Hang on their slick why don't you sit the fuck down and take that giant stick out of your ass." I say, pushing him away from Naruto, "Calm down we all went to see a movie, there was no physical contact in anyway."

"Who the fuck are you?" he growls, glaring at me.

"I'm an angry chick with a fucking car, now why are you throwing a tantrum, because your boyfriend decided to hang with friends after being ignored by you all day. Anybody would do that, you seem like a fucking kill joy." I say, putting my hands on my hips.

"I'll call you later Naruto," he snaps and then leaves, mumbling obscenities as he goes, I seem to have that effect on people today.

"You ok Cutie," I ask, putting my hand on Naruto's shoulder, "Maybe you should sit down." He allows me to guide him into a seat next to Haku.

"I don't know what's wrong with him; he's never done that, yelled at me before." Naruto is in a daze, Haku puts his hand on his shoulder but Naruto brushes it off.

"Do you want me to get you some water?" Ino asks, she looks helpless, we all do.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" I ask, he responds to that, he looks at me and nods, "Do you guys need a ride?" they shake their heads no and I we say our goodbyes for the day.

I lead Naruto by the hand to my car, he walks to the passenger's side and I unlock the door quickly before hoping into the driver's seat. I move my bags and application to the art store into the center console. I pull my lanyard off of my neck and quickly turn on my car; turning down my music as it comes booming through the speakers.

"Where do you live?" I ask, pulling out of the parking lot.

"Turn left and keep going until you hit Rye street, then turn and keep going until you get to the lake, I'll tell you where to go from there." He mumbles. I follow his directions.

"Is this your first fight?" I ask, trying to fill the silence.

"No it isn't, it's the first time he has accused me of cheating though," Naruto laughs grimly, "That's a new one."

"When did he first start acting strange?" I ask.

"A few weeks ago, it was just little things, him getting angrier easily, getting rough with me," Naruto mumbles, "Trying to pressure me into having sex with him, he hasn't bugged me about it since I punched him in the face."

"Is he hanging out with anyone you think would be a bad influence?"

"When you brought up the details about all the A students being in a gang, I thought about how Sasuke is a Straight A student. It got me worried, you don't think he's in it do you?"

"Let's not jump to conclusions Naru-chan, why don't you tell your Guardian about it and then when you're ready call him."

"Turn right here, I'm the second house on the left." Naruto says, "I'll call him when I'm ready, I'll tell you guys about it at lunch, alright?"

"Ok Naruto, stay strong."

"Thank you," Naruto mumbles, "Your probably one of the few people who doesn't automatically hate me when they first meet me, that really means a lot. See you tomorrow."

"Bye Naruto." I smile, and drive home, humming quietly to myself.

The next day in the school parking lot Haku and Ino are waiting for me; with a tall boy who I assume is Zabuza. I step out of the car and brush down my black dress, and mess around with my purple leggings. I move around my green jacket and smile as Ino walks up beside me, in a much better mood since yesterday. She's wearing lightly colored skinny jeans and a powder blue blouse, her hair up in what I would now call a signature ponytail.

"Morning Mayumi-chan," Ino says, "Was Naruto ok when you dropped him off?"

"Yeah a lot better; we'll see him at lunch today." I smile, walking over to Haku, "So is this your boyfriend?"

Haku blushes, letting his hair which he left down today fall into his face. He's wearing a powder pink top, which looks way better than Sakura's pink. He's wearing tight blue jeans and a black skirt over them. The boy next to him is dressed in a dark blue shirt with a pair of jeans with rips from top to bottom. His hair is black and spiky, and his eyes a blackish blue color. He is tall, very tall and he looks down at me for a few minutes with no expression on his face before breaking out in a big grin.

"So you're the girl who got detention to be with Haku," Zabuza says in a deep voice, "Thank you for watching out for him when I could not."

"No problem, he's a really good friend," I say, giving him a quick hug.

"I also heard you got him a place in Akatsuki if you join, is that true?" Zabuza asks.

"Yes, I'm thinking of throwing Naruto into the deal as well." I think, I bet he would really like being in a gang, they'd like him.

"Interesting, you must be pretty tough if they would accept anyone just to get you." Zabuza mumbles.

"I suppose, ooh that's the first bell," I say just as it begins to chime over the speakers, "Time to learn."

"You mean bug the shit out of Sasori?" Ino asks, I called her the night before and told her all about the art store incident.

"Well yes that too." I chuckle.

We proceeded to class, Zabuza walking with Haku, while Ino and I headed to our History class. Iruka wasn't in the room yet but the Akatsuki was, all lined up in their usual seats, only Deidara was missing. I grinned, tapped Ino on the shoulder and signaled to her that I would be annoying Sasori until Deidara arrived. She nodded, grinning just as evilly as me, I'm so proud. I walk over, and sit down, Sasori doesn't even notice to busy focusing on the piece of wood in his hands.

"There you are brat, took you long enough." He grumbles still looking at the wood, "Did I tell you what that Bitch did to me at work yesterday. She insulted me and I couldn't say a fucking thing because the boss was in the back room listening. I have never wanted to turn someone into a puppet so much. Who the hell does she think she is anyway?"

"Aw and here I thought you were madly in love with me," I chuckle, his head whips up and his Hazel eyes widen in shock. Funny, I never noticed how lightly colored his eyes were.

"You bitch, why the fuck are you sitting next to me?" Sasori growls, his eyes growing darker, ooh.

"Just thought I'd ask you a few questions about the job," I say, making the B in job pop, "I'm bringing in my application today."

"The pay's shit," he says quickly, like he is trying to come up with an excuse, "And the boss makes you work crazy hours."

"Nothing I can't handle," I lean in close to him, smiling wide, "We'll be working together."

He groans and moves away from my face, "Go the fuck away!"

I look up and notice Deidara enter the room, "Alright, we'll talk later, job buddy."

I wave as I walk by Deidara and take my seat next to Ino just as Iruka-sensei walks in the door, today is going to be wonderful.

Sasori's P.O.V.

"Today is going to be awful," I grumble, slamming my head against my history desk.

"Aw cheer up Danna, you have work today right, you get your pay check today, un. You're always happy on pay day, hm." Deidara says, rolling a ball of clay between his fingers.

"Not when the very bane of my existence is planning on applying for the open position at the best job I've ever had." I growl, digging my nails into the table, "And she just had to sit next to me and bug me in school. I swear if she joins Akatsuki I'm going to lose it!"

"Honey you have already lost it, un." Deidara says, chuckling, "Besides you didn't like me when we first met and now we are best friends."

"Because you wouldn't leave me the fuck alone and I just became immune to it. Now all I have to worry about is you hitting on me."I grumble, remembering the first time that happened, "I had to tell you that I was straight five times, and then it took me two pounds worth of Ben and Jerry's ice-cream to make you feel better."

"Well I was upset," Deidara pouts, "But it's ok because I think that cute blonde Itachi's brother is dating is going to be single soon, hm. And who has two shoulders he can cry on, me, un."

"Wonderful, I'm glad you are having a good day." I say with as much sarcasm as I can muster.

"You're so mean, yeah!" Deidara pouts, "I bet it's because you have a crush on Mayumi-chan and you just won't admit it, un."

"Deidara it's more likely I'd want to go out with you that her." I mumble.

"Well too bad for you I've moved on huh, un."

Mayumi's P.O.V.

Orochimaru was out today, so Biology was actually fun, but It was a hollow happiness. All of the kids with the music notes were absent from his class, and I bet all of the others in the school as well. I felt nervous, like I was being watched, it wouldn't surprise me if he had video cameras hidden in the room, sneaky bastard. When I finally got up to the roof I felt safe, like I could actually breathe.

"So, have you thought about my proposal?" Pein asks, I turn and see him standing in the corner, dressed in a flame red shirt and dark jeans with his leatherjacket on.

"I have considered it slightly, but I want to throw another name into the crop." I say, walking over to my bench.

"Zabuza has already secured himself a position in our group; he confirmed it with me first block."

"No not him, I know you would have offered him a position anyway. I want to have Naruto join as well." I say, Pein looks at me, a smirk spreading across his face.

"Why would you want him to join?"

"I like him, he reminds me of a friend of mine from back home," he did remind me of Sachi-chan.

"I will accept this, so are you going to join us or not?"

"Give me a week to decide officially," he narrows his eyes at me, "I want to weigh the benefits and loses of joining your Gang. If you accept this I will give you a hint about our enemies."

"Just a hint?"

"Don't you want to take the credit for discovering it?" I ask slyly.

"I like your style, if you do decide to join you will be a valuable member."

"I know, there symbol is an eighth note." The bell rings, and I leave, heading for lunch.

I sit at our table; Naruto is already there with a small smile on his face. His shirt is navy blue with an orange swirl in the center. His pants are tight and on his feet is a pair of bright orange converse. He has a cup of ramen in front of him and is humming a song.

"Well you're in a better mood today." I say, giving him a smile.

"Yeah, Sasuke called an hour after you dropped me off. He apologized for being such an ass and everything is better now." He giggles, "I'm so happy."

"Well that's good; oh I got an announcement to make once everyone gets here," I smile, pulling my bento out of my bag, "You're going to flip cutie!"

It only takes five minutes before everyone, now including Zabuza to get to the lunch table, I can barely keep my excitement.

"We're all going to join Akatsuki next Wednesday," I say, everyone giggles, well Zabuza more nods happily, except Naruto.

"Even me?" he asks eyes wide.

"Even you cutie, but you can't tell Sasuke, we don't want others to know. Unless of course you don't want to be a member,"

"No I do its just, I can't believe you'd let me join, I mean," He looks so happy, I just have to hug him, "This means so much to me, thanks."

"No problem, we're friends, and I take care of my friends."

Akatsuki's P.O.V.

"So did she except your offer?" Konan asks, leaning her head onto Pein's shoulder.

"She said she wanted to weigh her options and she would officially answer me Wednesday." Pein says, "And she added another person to her list."

"Really who, un?" Deidara asks, taking a sip of his orange juice.

"Uzumaki Naruto, seems she's taken a liking to him. I accepted the offer, he does have potential."

"Wonderful, did she tell you anything about the rival gang? THATS THE ONLY REASON WE ARE EVEN LETTING PEOPLE INTO THE GROUP!" Zetsu growls.

"She said they're symbol is an Eighth note." Pein mumbles, "That's it."

The group fell silent, everyone processing this new piece of information. The only one who seemed unaffected by the new piece of information was Tobi, who was bouncing up and down with chocolate milk in his hands.

"Where exactly should we go from here?" Kakuzu asks.

"I'm not sure, but I think we need to keep our eyes peeled for any music notes, understand?" Pein questions, everyone nods and the normal lunch routine resumes.

Unknown P.O.V.

"She is going to be wondering about our whereabouts," a gruff voice says, "Why are we all here anyway?"

"I believe the Akatsuki is recruiting new members, so we are too." A voice hisses.

"So you think these people are worth the fucking trouble?" a female voice asks.

"Yes, now keeping going, we need to have this done today." The leader hisses again.

"It's almost complete my lord, it's only a matter of time before they accept the invitation." Another boy whispers, tapping away at the computer in front of him, "Only a matter of time."

Mayumi's P.O.V.

I skip into the art shop, smiling as I see Sasori at the counter, looking miserable.

"Hey Scorpling is your manager here, I want to turn in my Application." I say with a smile on my face, he sighs and walks to the back room. He comes back with a tall man with spiky gray hair tilting slightly to the side.

"So you came here for the job?" the man asks in a bored tone, his face from his nose down is covered with a gray bandana, he's wearing sweat pants and his shirt is covered in paint marks and holes.

"Yes I picked up my application yesterday," I say, handing the paper over.

"Well your application looks good, how about starting tomorrow at 3, Sasori here can train you." He says, pointing down to the angry look scorpion.

"Sounds good to me," I say, he nods and goes back into the room from where he came, "So work buddy, aren't you excited?"

"I would rather admit that Art is fleeting than ever agree to being excited about spending a second with you." He growls, digging his nails into the countertop.

"Art fleeting, who the fuck gave you that dumbass idea. Art is something that can last throughout the ages." I smile, "Fleeting, that is just comical!"

"You, you think art is eternal?" He asks in disbelief, like he cannot believe the words that just came out of my mouth.

"Yeah, it's just my view, now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go get some caramel hot chocolate, bye work buddy."

He doesn't say anything as I walk away, which almost bugs me but I decide to ignore it, time for some hot chocolate! I walk to my car and drive to the Tea Shoppe, knowing the rest of my friends were already waiting for me there. Wait until I tell them how Sasori was in such shock he couldn't even insult me as I left the store, yeah that's why he didn't speak. He just couldn't think of a good comeback to throw at me that has to be it.

Sasori's P.O.V.

Is she really serious, strutting in like she owns the place and then leaving as quickly as possible? I remove my nails from the top of the counter and spill out the body of my puppet. Does she really believe in eternal art? I pull a piece of sandpaper out of my pocket and begin to smooth the body out, defining the features more. It's funny, at first impression she doesn't seem like much of an artist, but all the art supplies she bought the other day change my perspective. Maybe having to train her won't be so bad. I smooth out a rough edge from the back of the torso, and then stop. What the fuck am I thinking! She is a stupid, arrogant bitch that got a job here just to ruin my life! How could I even think that training her would be a good thing, what is wrong with me? She must be using some sort of Jedi mind trick on me, or maybe she is brain washing me into doing her evil deeds. Now I'm just thinking nonsense, she is just a girl who is probably used to defending herself with different types of mind games so she doesn't get hurt by the people around her. That's more logical, it makes a lot more sense, but now I am starting to wonder about her past. Was she in a gang or wasn't she? Does she have any siblings or close family? What is her favorite artist, piece of artwork, art style?

"Maybe if you weren't always such a douche bag you could find out all of this stuff." Kakashi says, walking by with his favorite inappropriate book in his hand.

"Who says I was wondering about her, who says I act like a douche bag?" I yell, standing to my feet.

"Just power down there buddy, no need to be so wired." Kakashi chuckles, "I got that line from a play."

"Who says I was wondering about her? I wasn't!" I shout, stomping my foot.

"Really, than why are you being so defensive?" I have no way to respond, "Get to know her, you might be surprised at what you have in common." I sit back down, looking down at my puppet, is it really that simple?


	6. Tattoo me!

**Three weeks later **

"Sasori!" I shout, walking into my history classroom, "You bastard you ditched work yesterday and I got stuck working overtime!" I stomp over, my purple flats clicking against the linoleum.

"Oh I did, sorry Princess," He drones, smirking slightly, tugging at the buttons of his open black shirt, his undershirt a few shades darker than his hair.

"Don't pull that princess crap on me, I had a shit load of homework to do and I didn't finish it all because of you!" I slam my fist against his desk; my black dress fluttering at the bottom, the green fishnets on my arms makes the surface of the table feel weird.

"I had homework too Princess, so why don't you twirl around and go back to your castle." Sasori says, leaning back in his chair, I growl and kick him farther back, he almost smacks his head against the floor but saves himself.

I smirk and walk away, swinging my hips as I go. I've been attending Konoha High school for Three weeks, been working at the art store for 19 days, and have been a secret member of the Akatsuki for a week now. Sasori was now getting used to my constant taunts and was starting to throw them back, but I still have the upper hand. I smile at Ino, who is sitting at our normal seat, her hair in her usual ponytail, now cropped short. We really have Sakura to thank for that though; we were sitting in our Algebra 2 class when it happened. Sakura pointed out that Sasuke likes girls with long hair (She thinks that Naruto and Sasuke dating is just a rumor), so Ino angry at her took a pair of scissors and cut it off, throwing it at Sakura. We went to the hair salon that afternoon and had it evened out and I convinced her to get a streak of purple through her bangs. She turns to me and smiles, her purple ruffled blouse sparkling. Her jeans are black and she is borrowing my converse high heels, she looks good in them.

"You just can't leave him alone," Ino chuckles, "It makes having this class so early fun."

"Tell me about it cutie, hey you ready for tonight?" I ask tonight Ino, Naruto, Haku, Zabuza and I all decided to get Akatsuki tattoos.

"Nervous as hell but it will be fun; it's weird that they want us to be quiet about our memberships." Ino mumbles.

"I can't really blame them, they need people who could possible get recruited to the music notes, the only thing we have to be wary of is our tattoos. Where are you going to put yours?" I ask,

"Probably on my hip, like you." She says, smiling.

"Cool, then we'll match!"

Class went quickly and I soon found myself sitting down next to Konan in Biology, trying my best to do everything Orochimaru says. I don't want detention, I had already had it twice, and a third time did not sound very pleasant to me. He turns and begins to write down the equation for Photosynthesis and I quickly copy it into my notebook as well. When I am done I glare daggers the spot on his back where the music note is, hidden by his hair. Konan bumps my elbow and I nod, jotting down the rest of the notes he has added to the board. Konan puts her right hand onto her lap, but keeps writing down notes with her left hand. I look down at her jean skirt, her hand resting on her thigh closed into a fist. Her blue tights look darker under the desk and her black ballet flats look similar to a pair I have in my closet. I look up at the board and put my left hand into my lap, opening it. Just as expected a note falls into my hand and I quickly stash it in the pocket of my purple cover-up. I'll read it when I finally get out of this class, when I get to the roof; no I'll go to the bathroom first and read it right away before algebra. Orochimaru began his lecture, speaking about plants and photosynthesis and the cycles that help contribute to it. He kept moving, always standing in front or behind Konan and I longer than the other students, which bothered the both of us. When the bell finally rang I bolted from the room, heading to the bathroom before Orochimaru or anyone could stop me. I quickly locked myself into a stall and pulled the note out, opening it gently. I read quickly:

Mayumi,

We need you to identify each of the opposing Gang by name if you can. Please make a detailed description of each of them and give it to Pein when you get it all down. Don't let anyone see you, and try not to confront them head on, be safe.

Konan

I sigh, putting the note into my bag where it won't fall out. Great I guess I have nothing better to do during Algebra, and Ino can help me. I begin walking to Algebra, hoping that Sakura won't bug the crap out of me today. I walk in and Ino is already at our table, Sakura in her place at the opposite side of the room, good. I sit beside Ino and take out a few pieces of lined paper, and write Orochimaru's name at the top. I continue with the names I remember and the descriptions but I hit a road block at some point. I poke Ino and ask her for help and she tells me quietly the names of the people I describe, soon I have a list. Orochimaru, Kabuto, Sakun, Ukon, Jirubo, Kidamaru, Kimimaru, and Tayuya , eight members in total. I'm almost glad I'm still a hidden member. When Algebra ends I say goodbye to Ino but end up just bumping into Naruto in the hall. By his side is Sasuke, still looking like he has a duck's ass for hair.

"Hey Hon," I say, "Sorry about bumping into you, where you headed?"

"I have gym with Ino but I am walking Sasuke to Lunch." Naruto says, giving me a smile.

"Alright see you later," I say watching as the two leave hand in hand, but then I notice something on the back of the raven's neck. A music note tattoo, barely covered by his hair, right on his neck, "Did you see that?" I ask turning to Ino.

"Yes, but I'm hoping it's just a figment of my imagination," she turns to me with eyes wide, "Sasuke is-"

"Don't say it out loud, just go to class and don't tell Naruto, I need to talk to Pein." She nods and walks away, and I head up to the roof.

I run up the stairs, not even caring about safety, I just need to tell Pein, I have to tell him about them. I make it to the top and Pein is standing, facing a boy who looks like one of the boys on my list, no it is one of the boys on my list. They both look at me, panting and clutching a piece of paper to my chest. I have no idea what to say, no idea how to avoid being found out, but my mind spits out an excuse quickly.

"I need help with my Homework Pein!"I shout, my face turning red.

"We'll talk later," the boy says, I move out of his way as he begins to walk down the stairs, adjusting his glasses on his nose, a little music note on the back of his neck.

I wait for him to disappear before shutting the door, "Seems you've already met one of them."

"He is going to suspect you're in the gang now." Pein sighs sliding to the ground, "Give me the paper." I hand it over, he reads quickly and then looks up, "Is this everyone?"

"There is actually one more that I saw when I left my class." I mumble, looking down at my shoes.

"Who?"

"Uchiha Sasuke, Itachi's little brother." I whisper, I am met with silence.

"I don't think it is very safe for Naruto to be with him, tell him after school when you go for your tattoos. Right now our main concern is that a teacher is the one calling the shots." Pein grumbles, looking down at his lap, "I wish you had told me sooner."

"I do as well, but this is what we have to work with, better make the best of it," I look over my shoulder and back at the door, "What did Kabuto want?"

"He said he was the leader of the Oto's, he wanted to officially declare that we are enemies." Pein chuckles, "I'm guessing he is second in command."

"Makes sense, it's always good to send in a decoy, it seems like they already know you're the leader though." He nods grimly, "What gang were you in, back in Kusogakure. I researched a few gangs there but I don't know where your affiliations lie."

"The Purple Vendettas, I was supposed to be the leader before I moved here." I say, he looks slightly shocked, "My sister founded the group, so I was in on gang activity from a young age."

"The Purple Vendettas from what I've heard are one of the strongest Gang's in Kusogakure, everyone knows there name." Pein says in awe, "Frankly I am impressed, no wonder you know so much about gangs."

"I try, I'll try and break the news to Naruto gently, hopefully nothing will go bad." I say, crossing my arms over my chest, "I hope they don't suspect me."

"Well in any case, we are having a group meeting at my house on Saturday, everybody. So make sure you are not tailed or anything, I don't want to endanger anybody."

"Well I have work Saturday with Sasori, he can drive me over if you ask him." I say, "Saves me the trouble of having to figure it out. I'm sure Zabuza can get Haku and Naruto but then that leaves Ino without a ride."

"I'll have Gaara pick her up, just make sure not to let anyone see your true colors until it is absolutely necessary."

"Understood, have a nice lunch," I say as the bell rings, I walking down the stairs quietly, hopefully no one was listening in.

When I get down to lunch I can tell that my table is already occupied. Naruto is sitting with his head against the table with his arms wrapped around it. Ino is sitting next to him, her lunch already laid out in front of her, but her attention is on Naruto. Her hand is on his orange clothed back. I sit down silently and look at her with a questioning look; she mouths 'Sasuke' and turns back to whispering quietly into Naruto's ear.

"What happened Cutie?" I ask, removing his hands from around his head slowly.

"Sasuke took me aside before he went to lunch and told me it wasn't working out and that he was better off without me." Naruto mumbles, tears falling from his eyes, "He said he couldn't make it work with someone who was such a pathetic excuse for a person."

"Naruto look at me," he doesn't look up, "Look at me!" He looks up quickly, eyes wide, "You are a wonderful person, a great friend, and if Sasuke cannot see that then he does not deserve you. You can do better, and you don't need him dragging you down. Don't let him see you cry you are not weak! You are strong and this situation will make you stronger alright?" he looks up at me tears welling up in his eyes again, he nods and takes hold of my hand, mouthing 'thank you'.

Haku and Zabuza showed up a little bit later, Ino filled them in while I held on to Naruto's hand as he let the rest of his sadness out. We stayed quiet throughout the whole lunch; the only time we did talk was to discuss where we would meet to go get our tattoos. After that was decided I walked Naruto to his class and then walked to my own. Gaara was at our usually table, and he had even been kind enough to lay my stuff out for me as well. I gave him a smile before sitting down next to him, looking down at my latest water color. A green meadow with a person sitting in it, he was shadowed which I was ok with, I didn't want to give him a face.

"Why was Naruto upset at lunch?" Gaara asks quietly, drawing a short ponytail onto the shadow girl on his paper, Ino of course.

"Sasuke broke up with him; damn bastard had to do it during school too." I grumble.

"That's sad, I feel bad for him." He mumbles, sketching out the rest of Ino's body.

"So how long have you liked Ino?" I ask, looking at my picture, I get no response. I turn towards Gaara and he is staring down at the paper, hair falling more into his face than usual.

"What makes you think I like Ino?" he asks, shaking slightly.

"Well I guess I noticed how your female character always had long hair in a ponytail like Ino. But I guess I confirmed it when I saw that your characters hair got shorter right after Ino cut hers." I say smiling; he looks up at me slightly annoyed.

"You are way too observant." He says, "You just know everything don't you?"

"Yes I am Kami-sama, I know everything about everyone!" I chuckle, "She's a nice girl, talk to her."

"It would endanger her," he says, "Besides, she would never like me."

"Gaara, there is no reason for her not to like you, I agree it is dangerous right now with the Oto slinking around but that doesn't mean you can't try and text her or form a relationship." I whisper, adding some green to my picture.

"I'll think about it," he says, I smile.

The class ends and I put away my stuff, Gaara is staying after for the day to finish his sketch. I wave goodbye to him before leaving the room, walking over to Ino's locker. After about five minutes she shows up with Haku and Zabuza in tow. She sticks her stuff in her locker and we walk over to Naruto's locker. On our way over I see Sasuke walking by and I carefully put my foot in his path for him to trip on. He does but I do not turn around, just continue walking over to Naruto's locker. He glares at me but says nothing, just gets up and stomps away.

"He looked really angry," Naruto mumbles, frowning slightly, "you tripped him."

"The bastard deserved it Hun, now do you know where you want your tattoo?" I ask, smiling slightly.

"I'm thinking about putting it on my shoulder blade," he says, slapping the back of his left shoulder.

"Cool, what about you guys?" I ask, looking over at Haku and Zabuza.

"Shoulders," Zabuza says, "On his right and my left."

"Alright so we'll go get a drink of coffee than drive over to the Tattoo expo alright?" everyone agreed and I piled everyone into my car before driving over to the Tea Shoppe.

We order and I nod at Pein who is already in the back corner with Konan, Hidan, Kakuzu, Deidara, and Sasori. He nods back; the others look up but don't do anything. Sasori is glaring as usual; I give him a smirk and wave, before picking up my caramel hot chocolate and walking back out to my car. The others are waiting around it, I unlock the door and we hop in, heading for the Expo. I just cannot wait to see Daichi.

After two hours we arrive at the Expo, a large oval shaped arena used for sports and other activities but not today. Bikers are standing around smoking cigarettes, a few are shirtless, showing off full body tattoos. Ino clutches on to my hand as we walk through the groups, I chuckle lightly as we pass a piercing stand with a woman with more piercings than Pein and a shaved head. Zabuza has Naruto and Haku in front of him, watching everyone closely like they might attack at any moment. We make it to the doors and I flash the man a smile, he does not smile back.

"Do you have a ticket?" he asks.

"No but I know one of the artists, he personally invited me." He looks skeptical.

"Who?" he asks, looking down at his clipboard.

"Daichi," I say, he looks up with a smug look on his face.

"I doubt it, what proof do you have?" I lift up my skirt and pull down the top of my black short shorts I had on underneath my dress down to show off my right hipbone with the purple vendetta symbol on it. He looks at it in shock, and then pales.

"That is Daichi's work alright, go on in, they with you too?" he gestures to Zabuza, Haku, Naruto, and Ino, I nod and he points his thumb into the door, "Go."

I smirk and walk in, Ino latches on to my hand again and the others follow suit. We walk around, and see more insane tattoos, piercings, and a few people dangling from hooks. Ino has to look away which makes me laugh slightly. We make it to his stand, it says ten minute break on the front but I walk right in through the red curtains. What is on the other side is a room with lush rugs on the ground, a table covered in Tattooing tools, and two seats, a tattooing chair and a lush velvet red one where Daichi is sitting. He is wearing tight leather pants, revealing the tattoos on his hips and a black vest with nothing on underneath. His hair is dyed purple and cut in a thin Mohawk and his eyes are a piercing slate gray. A woman stands next to him with little red spikes for hair on her head. She is standing in a pair of shorts and a black bikini top which reveals her full body tattoo and piercings. She gives me a smile, revealing sharpened teeth, I smile back.

"Hi Daichi," I say, cocking my hip.

"How are you?" he smirks and stands.

"Pleasant," I say running up and hugging him, he hugs me back tightly. "In the mood for giving me and my friends a tattoo?"

"Sure, anything for you cutie, oh and may I introduce Thorn, she is my new assistant slash girlfriend," the girl nods and holds out her hand, I take it and shake.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance," Thorn says in a thick Australian accent.

"The pleasure is all mine," I turn to Daichi and pull out the sketch of the Akatsuki symbol, the poofy red cloud with a silver outline with black mist in the background, "This is what we need on our bodies, in locations of our choosing of course. I can pay you-"

"No need, let's see your new gang I am assuming, not as good as the Vendetta's but I like it." he mumbles, tracing the lines, "shall you go first?"

"Yup, left hip please," I cheer, sitting down onto the tattoo chair.

"Alright, let me sketch it out and I can get to it, Thorn could you prep the spot for me?" She nods and pulls up my dress and rolls down my slider shorts, the other comes around as she begins to wipe a cold balm onto my hip.

Daichi comes over and places the sketch down onto my hip and pulls it off gently, I look down at it and nod. He wets the needle with ink and begins to etch it into my skin. It tickles, but that it, it feels a lot better than last time. My friends watch quietly, Ino looks nervous, Naruto excited, Haku fascinated, and Zabuza bored. The process went quick and soon I had white gauze over the spot and I was sitting next to Ino holding her hand as she got salve put on her right hip. She looks at me nervous and I give her a comforting smile. He puts the needle against her skin and she cringes as the buzzing begins. She clenches her hand in mine but does not make a sound, she does this the whole way threw, much better than when I got my first tattoo. Naruto goes next, lying down on his stomach, shirt on the floor. His back is covered in light bruises and old scars, I don't ask about them. He squeals when the needle first makes contact with his skin, but after a few seconds he relaxes and closes his eyes as the needle glides across his right shoulder. Haku is bouncing on the balls of his feet, he is excited, wanting to get it done and over with. Zabuza is patient and cool, he knows he will go last, and he will not show even a bit of pain when he does. I smile and look up at Daichi who is focusing all of his being into making the mark perfect, his art. I smile and sit down against the back wall of his booth letting my eyes slip shut; the pen buzzes and lulls me into a calm state.

"Wake up cutie we have to go!" I open my eyes and see Ino leaning over me, purple bangs falling into her face, "Up!"

"Zabuza and Haku are done?" I ask, rubbing my eyes.

"Yeah want to see?" Haku asks, holding white gauze over his, he peels it back to reveal the cloud, beautifully drawn onto his shoulder.

"It's wonderful Daichi, you are a master of your art." I gush, rising to my feet.

"Please, I am good but there are plenty who I can learn from," he says, "Although I am most grateful for the praise."

"It's no problem, give me a call next time you're in town, I'm thinking of getting an ivy Armband." He smirks, and pulls me into his arms, "I'm going to miss you Daichi."

"I'll miss you too kiddo," he pushes me out of his arms, and puts his hand up in the air as if he were about to receive a high five, "Once a Vendetta-"

"Always a Vendetta," I finish, clasping my hand against his and squeezing, "Bye Daichi, and thank you."

"Bye Hon, give them hell." We all left the tent and out of the convention, everyone walking with a new sense of confidence.

Ino walked with a completely new sense of confidence I had never seen in her, I recognized the move well. It was the way I walked right after I got my vendetta's tattoo; I walked with a sense of pride, hope, and acceptance. We make it to the car and climb in; I drive around and pull in to a tiny diner that does not have a lot of people in the parking lot. We climb out and grab a table in the back, Ino, Naruto, and I on one side with Haku and Zabuza on the other.

"That wasn't too painful." Ino says, looking over the menu, "I'm glad I was scared I'd be the one to cry."

"It isn't too bad, it hurt my first time getting it, but it wasn't too bad this time around, I kind of liked it."

"Masochist," aku HHHaku grumbles, closing his menu, "Can we get dessert first?"

"Yeah I'm cool with that, they don't have ramen anyway." Naruto chuckles. We pick out our desserts and they arrive quickly.

"Best cheesecake ever!" Haku cheers, "try some Zabuza!"

"I'm content with my coffee thank you."

"Well then try a bite of my chocolate cake!" I offer, holding out a bit on my fork.

"I'd rather eat the cheesecake," Haku sticks his fork out and Zabuza eats it, "too sweet."

"So after this you guys want to head home or maybe catch a movie?" I ask, seeing as it is Friday night.

"Oh yeah, let's go see that new Zombie movie," Naruto squeals, "it is supposed to be extremely gory and fast paced."

"Alright what do you guys think?" I ask.

"Sounds good to me," Zabuza says.

"Alright, but isn't it rated R?" Ino asks.

"Silly Ino, we are giving Zabuza our money and he is getting our tickets for us." I say, "He looks the part."

"Cool, let's get ready for some brain munching fun!" Naruto cheers.

Unknown P.O.V.

The room is dark except for two people one sitting in a chair the other on the desk leaning over the chair. In the dark only his glasses show, light from the hallway lighting them up and revealing an evil glint. A smirk found its way onto the man in the chairs face.

"Tell me, what exactly did you say to Pein?" The man hisses.

"I told him I was the leader of Oto. I told him we are officially enemies and we will be in touch, I would have said more but that girl Natsuyo Mayumi came up the stairs. She paused for a second after seeing me than yelled at Pein to help her with her homework. They do not have any classes together, I checked after I left the roof." He tilts his head back slightly, "She knows more than she lets on, I found out that at her previous school it was just a series of gangs. She was a member of one of the strongest, The Purple Vendetta's. If I didn't suspect her of being in the Akatsuki I would ask you to consider adding her to our group."

"I see, well on Monday teach her a lesson she will not forget." The Male extends a finger and runs it down the boy's face, who shivers in delight, "Make sure it rattles her bones, you'll think of something my little viper."

"Yes my lord," he whispers huskily.

"How is our newest member adjusting to being in our ranks?"

"Well, although I do not see why you would add someone so closely connected to the Akatsuki."

"In time my pet you will see, now come." The boy hops onto the man's lap and their lips connect in a passionate kiss. The boy's glasses are knocked to the ground and the man's chair rolls back into the wall.


	7. Sabatoge

**Chapter Eight**

"Oh shut up," I giggle, parking my car in the back parking lot of the school.

"Oh come on you like him," Ino urges, leaning towards me form her seat, "Admit it, you like the fire crotch."

"You may like it Ino but I do not, now get out of my car!" I shout, she giggles and hops out, "Just because we spent time together Saturday and got along at work Sunday, that doesn't mean anything. He is a soulless ginger, now March missy!" she smirks and shakes her butt at me, her skinny jeans look good I'll give her that. Her shirt is covered in glitter, shaping music notes, skulls, and other miscellaneous items.

"Denial is the first step to acceptance." Ino says, dodging out of the reach of my hand. I adjust my dark purple long shirt and my black and green leggings, before Ino and I begin walking to the school doors.

"You keep this up and I'm going to have to cut you." I say, she cringes at how serious I look, "Just kidding, or am I?"

"Don't do that, you scare me when you do that!"

"Well then don't annoy me into doing it, problem solved."

"Did you do your History homework?"

"Yeah, it was pretty easy, to be honest I enjoyed it." we walk into the classroom and take or normal seats, I glare at Sasori as usual and he glares back, "We're watching a movie today right?"

"Yeah about the start of the three main monotheistic religions, should be good." Ino says sarcastically.

"Don't diss History Ino, I happen to like this subject." I reply, leaning back in my chair.

"Hey guys sorry I'm late," Iruka says, walking in, I notice a few hickies on his neck but say nothing, "Pass in your homework and I'll get the movie started."

I leave Biology angry and upset, I got detention, for nothing, I took notes all class and I even answered question correctly, I raised my hand even. But no I get a detention because apparently I was slacking off, god damn bastard. I head for the roof then stop; I should probably distance myself from the roof, from Pein, I'm a spy. I turn around and head for the library, hoping that its not to full. It is of course, all the tables are full except one, and Sasori is sitting at it. So I distance myself from the leader but end up sitting across from my partner. He is drawing in a sketch book, looking bored, his shirt black with a red diamond pattern running down the left side. His jeans are torn and covering one of the rips is the cloud symbol. I sigh and go to take the seat across from him; he looks up surprised but quickly looks down and pretends I'm not even there.

"Morning Ginger," I say, pulling out my Biology homework.

"Morning, midget bitch." He says, moving his pencil at a different angle.

"You're one to talk." Then there is silence, we don't talk, we just go about our business. The period goes quick and I smile happily when the bell rings, I had finished all of my bio homework, and the math homework I had neglected to do Sunday. "Later Fire crotch."

"Bye, little bitch." He mumbles, I grin lightly and head for Algebra 2, I see Naruto on the way, dressed in black skinny jeans and a black shirt with an orange swirl on the front.

"Hey cutie how are you holding up?" I ask, he looks up at me and gives me a small smile.

"I'm ok, Dei has been really nice to me, and-" he looks around quickly, "I would so hand him my V card in a heartbeat. I mean I got to third base with Sasuke but I totally want to hand my V card over to Dei on a silver platter."

"Okay you are feeling better, I'm really glad, now keep the Dei talk down, we don't want people finding out," I whisper at the end, "Oh and by the way, I approve." He smiles and I make it into Algebra to see Sakura smirking at me evilly, "What do you want?"

"I heard you totally had sex with the entire football team yesterday!" She says, smirking evilly, "I never knew you were such a slut."

"First of all I had work yesterday, second of all I have my V card thank you very much and third your roots are showing." She growls and stomps away, "And fourth your outfit looks like vomit!"

"Way to go Sexy you sure showed her," Ino cheers, as I sit down next to her, "You finish your homework?"

"Yeah, not like it matters we have a sub today." Ino says, pointing a man at the front of the room who I recognize automatically.

"Kakashi what the hell are you doing here you aren't a teacher!" I shout pointing at him, everyone looks at me strange.

"You're right I'm a substitute teacher," His face is covered by a paint splattered bandana, he is in his usual sweat pants and dark grey crew neck t-shirt with black swirls on it, "and I'm a hot one at that."

"Oh yes I am so hot for the teacher," I say sarcastically, leaning back in my chair, then I notice the red splotches on his neck, "Nice Hickies, you get them in History?"

"Why yes I did, you have an adorable History teacher I must say, but right now I actually have to teach you Algebra, hand in your homework, finished or not!" He takes it his eyes gleaming; some kids didn't do it obviously, "You get your paycheck tomorrow."

"Fine," I sigh, it's better than not getting it at all.

The rest of the day goes fast, lunch is quiet, and Haku sits depressed, he got detention in Biology too, and Zabuza is absent. Coincidence, I think not. We agree to meet after school before our detention, lunch goes quickly and before I know it I am helping Gaara put the finishing touches on his picture. All of his pictures, his shadow images of him and Ino have been put into a sort of comic, ending with a picture of them facing forward, holding hands, all of their features illuminated. He is thinking of giving it to her for a birthday present, after he asks her out. He doesn't know if he is allowed to though, because of how in public they would not be together since we are still spies. I tell him not to worry, just ask her out when he feels like it. He is very shy; he wants to wait until he knows her better which is understandable. He also has a few more sketches to draw from the collage. The bell rings and I have to leave, I walk out of the classroom and meet Haku across the hall from the science room.

"Biology scares me," Haku whispers, looking at the door, neither of us want to walk in.

"We have to do it," I say, he clenches onto my hand, Zabuza got a cold over the weekend, so Haku is nervous about detention, and very worried about Zabuza. We each take a deep breath and enter the room, sitting at our normal detention spot.

"Good you're here, today you will be cleaning lab equipment, we just dissected frogs in our anatomy and physiology class, enjoy." Orochimaru sniggers, Haku looks like he wants to throw up. I pull a hair tie off my wrist and pull my hair back. I hand another one to Haku who pulls back his long ebony locks. He rolls up the long sleeves of his tight purple shirt, they look cute with his black shorts, but if they get covered in frog guts, they won't look so attractive.

We walk over to the sink filled with trays covered in goo, I almost upchuck but I hold it in. I start the water and grab some soap and sponges. I fill one of the empty sinks with water; I wash off one of the dirty dishes in the dirty sink and then dunk it into the clean water in the other sink. I put a bit of soap on one of the sponges and begin to scrub the equipment clean. Haku copies what I'm doing with the sink opposite of the one to my left. The dishes slowly disappear and I am happy when we are down to just the tools of dissection. I try to be careful, as I scrub the scalpel clean but my hand slips and I cut open the palm of my hand, I drop the scalpel into the bottom of the sink, the line is not long, about two inches. Haku rushes to my side, and insists that he cleans the rest of the objects. I agree with him after a bit and get a paper towel to press into my palm. He finishes quickly and Orochimaru gives us a creepy smile before telling us to get out.

"Well that went well," I say, looking down at my palm, I needed a band aid desperately.

"It could have been worse, but you still got cut, let's go to the nurse and get you a band aid." He insists, tugging me towards her office.

The band aid is a rainbow, and seeing it on my palm almost makes getting cut worth it. I wave at Haku as he jumps into Zabuza's truck, he came to get him but he looks pale and his eyes dull. I watch him pull out, then I go back to my car and unlock it. I climb in and smile, as I lean back against the comfortable seat, thank god today is over. I turn on the car and reverse it, something feels weird when I hit the break, but I ignore it and continue on my way. I pull up to the traffic light in town and push on the breaks when the light flashes yellow, the car doesn't stop, oh no. I hit the gas and make it through the light before it turns red, almost hitting another guy; I stomp on the breaks again, nothing. Shit, I think fast and turn to head out of town, I remember when driving with Sasori he pointed out a trail that lead to cliffs where they had gang fights, if I could make it there without a cop maybe I could stop the car or something. I reach into my purse and pull out my phone, swerving to avoid a car, please don't let a cop show up. I look through my contacts and find Konan's I hit call and I put the phone to my ear; it will take me five more minutes until I reach the road to the cliffs.

"Hello," she answers her voice calm.

"Someone fucked with my car, the breaks don't work and I am going really fast." I say quickly, I'm starting to hyperventilate.

"Calm down, breathe, deep breaths." I finally get my breathing under control and she continues, "Where are you going?"

"Sasori told me about these cliffs that you guys have gang fights or something, I'm on that road now, I don't know what I'll do when I get there, I'm just hoping my car will slow down." Tears are forming in my eyes.

"I'll have everyone head over right now, just don't crash ok?" she asks.

"Why the fuck would I crash!" I scream, she sighs and tells me to breathe before hanging up.

I throw my cell phone onto the seat and keep the car on course after what seems like an eternity the cliffs come into view, no other cars are in sight, good, my car is slowing down, but not enough. I sigh, and gulp when I see where the road ends, right at the base of a rock wall, oh fuck no. I am in a car, going 43 mph, heading straight for a cliff. I try the breaks one more time, stomping on them with as much force as I can, the car slows to 41mph, its better than nothing. My emergency break does nothing, well what's the fucking point of that. I unbuckle my seat belt, and pull my stuff out of the seat next to me and open the car door, trying to keep the car on course. This is going to hurt like a mother. I throw my stuff out first, and then I jump out, pulling my knees against my chest and covering my head as I roll against the dirt of the road. I don't know how long I roll but when I come to a stop the world around me is spinning and my entire body aches. I slowly unroll myself and stretch out my limbs, lying on my back, the sky is spinning in a fast circle and I cry for it to stop. My knees are bleeding, and my clothes have rips in them, but my head is fine, and I think my spine is good too. The world slows to a stop; I take a deep breath and sit up, I move my arms, they work. I move my legs, I gasp when I bend my knee, the blood nauseates me, I am going to need about thirty rainbow band aids to cover this mess up. My stuff is a ways away from me but I don't go towards it. I look in the opposite direction, the front end of my car is pressed up against the cliff, and smoking, I'm surprised I did not hear the impact. I put my head in my hands and move my back, its wet, I probably got cut up when I rolled but nothing is hurting deeper in the skin, no broken bones. I hear cars coming, but I don't move, and I don't look up, the world is starting to spin again. The cars zoom and I hear the squeal of breaks sound and the opening and closing of car doors. Footsteps come running towards me but I don't move.

"Mayumi," Sasori whispers, out of character "oh my god are you ok."

"I'll go get the first aid kit." Konan says, I hear her get up and run away.

"Mayumi, please look at me," Sasori asks, putting a hand on my leg gently. I look up and meet his hazel eyes; they're wide and filled with worry, "Where are you hurt?"

"Everywhere," shocked at how weak my voice actually sounds.

"Come on, I'll carry you to my car," he leans as if to pick me up I panic and move away from him, the world spins faster.

"No, no stop its spinning stop!" I panic, covering my eyes with my palms.

"I'm sorry, please calm down." He puts his hands around my wrists, gently prying them away from my eyes, I meet his gaze again, "We'll stay right here ok?" I nod.

"I'm back," Konan says, holding a white box with a red cross, "Lets patch up your leg first, where else are you bleeding?"

"My back," I mumble, Sasori crosses to my back and gasps.

"This looks bad, we may have to take her to the hospital," he mumbles, "hand me the gauze so I can mop this up."

Konan rips away a large chunk of my stockings and sprays it with something that burns; she then covers it in thick gauze and a white medical tape. Then with a small smile she kisses it, leaving behind a light colored imprint from her lip stick. Then she goes and looks at my back, where Sasori is stilling mopping up blood, and lets out a yelp herself. I look over to wear my car is and see Kakuzu, Hidan, and Pein staring at my car.

"What are they doing?" I ask.

"Trying to figure out how this happened, how the breaks on your car stopped working. They'll figure it out, Kakuzu can get your car fixed cheap, may cost you a pay check or two but it's cheaper than most places." Sasori mumbles, "I think we need to get you out of that shirt."

"You haven't even asked me on a date yet," I chuckle lightly; they both seem to appreciate that I am making an effort at humor.

"Well how about afterwards, take it off, you can have my shirt after we get your back wrapped up I have another one in the car, and don't worry I won't look." Sasori says, lifting the back of my shirt up.

"I'll make sure of that." Konan says smiling; she lifts up the front of my shirt and pulls it off completely. I cover my chest with my arms and Konan and Sasori use what's left of my purple long shirt to mop the blood off my back. Afterwards the two bandage my back, making sure the gauze is pressed tightly to my back. Sasori runs to his car and gets me a shirt, its black with little red clouds on it, Konan helps me slip it over my head, and I feel better. Konan goes over to talk to Pein and Sasori sits next to me and hands me a Tea Shoppe mug.

"What is it?" I ask, my voice still shaking.

"Caramel hot chocolate, I thought you'd appreciate it." he mumbles, bumping my shoulder gently.

"Thank you." The group comes towards us, Pein crouches before me while Hidan, Kakuzu, and Konan head back towards Pein's car.  
>"We are going to go call a tow truck; we know a guy who will be able to fix your car ok?" he asks, I nod.<p>

I look over towards my car, and something strange is happening, its smoking again, and then it explodes, my eyes widen as the car bursts into more flames and a tire comes rolling by. I start to shake and tears fall from my eyes, I could have been in that, I could have exploded, it could have killed me. Then it hit me, I finally realized why my brakes had not worked, why my car exploded, the Oto were trying to kill me, and they were damn close to succeeding.

"They were trying to kill me," I sob, I wrap my arms around myself.

Konan looked as shocked as me, taking a few steps backwards. Hidan and Kakuzu look in a daze, and Pein looks stony, his face revealing no emotion. Sasori pulls off his leather jacket and wraps it around my shoulders before wrapping his arms around me, trying to stop my rocking. After a while I stopped rocking and I had controlled my sobs, I opted to bury my face into Sasori's chest, letting him hold me. I was in a situation like this once before in the past. It was when I was 12, a punk kid following my sister into a dangerous situation, I almost got stabbed but instead of me getting hit Rei took the blow. I sat in the emergency room with Nori crying my eyes out of how it was all my fault and I shouldn't have been so stupid. Nori kept reassuring me that it wasn't, that it was the bastard's fault for bringing a knife to a fist fight. Rei turned out fine, and was able to go home the next day, Mom and Dad never knew of course, so blindly lost in their jobs. Sasori gently pulls me way, looking down at my eyes, he looks like he wants to say something but doesn't.

"Sasori will take you home." Pein says, he isn't looking at me, "Tell the others that from now on we eat as a unit, no more separating ourselves, they will just hurt more of our members." I nod.

"Can you stand?" Sasori asks, offering me his hands, I nod and with his help make it to my feet. I fall forward into his chest, the world spinning again, "Dizzy?"

"No I just can't stand up straight and everything is spinning." Sarcasm dripping in every word, he smiles, and tilts my legs so that I fall into his arms. I bury my head against his chest, angry that he is holding me like I'm a bride, but to be honest I don't think I'd be able to make it to the car on my own. I feel him lower my legs to the ground and I stand up, keeping my head against his chest, "I'm going to throw up."

"Please not on me," I hear him open the car door, "Open your eyes." I do slowly and blink.

I climb into the car and he gently closes the door behind me, I look back at the wreckage of my car, still burning. My hands begin to shake and I lay my head down on my knees, trying to pretend this is all just some horrible dream. Sasori climbs into the driver seat and shuts the door, the car turns on and I take a deep breath. He puts it in drive and then I feel his hand on my back as we begin to move. I feel relaxed, the road is slightly bumpy, but Sasori's hand is pressed gently to my back, rubbing it gently, careful not to bump my bandages.

"Where do you live?" he asks, "I kind of need to know."

"168 Kohaku lane," I say, a headache starts to develop in my head.

"Interesting,"

"What?"

"Itachi lives the next road down, you must be rich."

"No my mother's aunt was rich, not us, we are just common folk."

The car falls into a comfortable silence, nothing is playing on the radio. Sasori keeps his hand on my back, the motion pulling at my eye lids, the car disappears around me and I am left curled up in a warm safe environment.

"Hey, we're here." Sasori whispers, pulling me forward away from my knees, I blink rubbing at my eyes. I look around my house, no one is home again.

"I don't have my purse," I realize, I don't remember grabbing it when we left.

"I got it for you, I put it in my car when I went to grab the shirt," he hands me my purse and gets out of his car and comes over to my door, I open it and slowly stand up.

"Thank you," I mumble, he gives me a small smile and puts his arm around my lower back, walking me to my front door. I dig out my keys, when I pull them out his arm drops from my back, and he takes a step off of the porch.

"I should go back, you'll be ok now right?" he asks, I try to nod and put my key up to the hole, my handshakes and I cannot guide the key where It is supposed to go.

I don't want to be alone, I remember when I almost got stabbed, we finally went home from the hospital, they kicked us out. I was shaking, and Nori held me as close as possible, when we got home, no one was there to comfort us. All we had was each other, that was probably the first time I realized I could not rely on my parents. Even before this moment I always thought they would protect me and keep me safe, I thought joining a gang was fun. But then on that night I realized, the reason Nori was in a gang, the reason she wanted me in the gang, was because our parents would never be there for us. But a gang, she made it so I would always have a family, so she could have a family. So the idea of entering my house and being alone in such a large place makes me shake.

"Sasori," I call out, my voice cracking, "could you please stay with me for a little while, I don't want to be alone." I hear no sound, I shake harder, I try to get my key in my door again but it just knocks against metal. A hand lands on top of mine and guides the key into the socket; he turns it and unlocks the door opening it gently.

"What kind of partner would I be if I left you when you needed me most?" he asks, he places his hand on the small of my back and pushes me in, closing the door behind us. We walk into the kitchen and he pulls out one of the chairs for me and lets me sit down, "Where are your parents?"

"Working, they do that a lot." I sigh, leaning back into the chair, I hiss and lean forward, "probably won't be able to take a shower tonight huh?"

"you could try a sponge bath, and just wash your hair in the sink, its short enough." He says, adding some water to a tea kettle that was left on the stove, "where do you keep your tea?"

"Top cabinet closest to the fridge, that's also where the mugs are." He nods as he turns the water on and grabs a box of jasmine tea.

"Do your parents work a lot?"

"Not in a while, but it's probably the house and taxes, all last week they didn't come home until nine thirty. Hey that cabinet above the toaster, can you grab me the bottle of advil."

"Sure," he says reaching into the cabinet he pulls out the bottle and walks it to the table, "Jasmine tea is fine right?"

"Of course, there is also honey in that cabinet with the sugar, and that drawer has all the silver ware," I say, taking four pills out of the bottle.

The tea pot whistles, he pours the water into the mugs with the jasmine tea inside, I smile gently when he puts our mugs down on the table, and then puts the bottle of pills away. I take my pills two at a time, hating how dry my throat is.

"What made you think of jumping out of the car?" Sasori asks, stirring his mug of tea.

"Well one time back in Kuso, my sister and I got caught sneaking into the theater so they were taking us to the station, my sister knew how the doors in the back of the car unlocked so she had us tuck and roll out of the car so we wouldn't get in trouble." I chuckle at the memory, "although the police car was only going twenty miles per hour when we did it, so I didn't get hurt."

"Well if you hadn't have done so you might have gotten trapped in the car, and then-" he stops with his sentence, his eyes looking intensely into his mug.

"I could have been killed." I finish for him, adding sugar into my mug, "I should learn more about cars, then I could check for tampering before leaving school. I don't think I'll be driving myself to school for a while."

"I can drive you," Sasori says, taking a sip of his tea, "Since I already know where you live, and I am your partner."

"Oh but think of the talk," I chuckle, "The two enemies settling their differences and sharing a car to school, well Suck-ura would love that."

"I'm sure we can think of something, and since Pein wants us all together it's not like we have to fight all of the time in school anymore."

"True but I don't want the Oto to think that you could be my weakness, it's safer if we keep insulting each other, but I think getting a ride from you would be the best choice I can make."

"Besides the fact that I can take care of myself, unlike you, you're only here a month and you've already figured out a major gang's leader and who the members are, and said gang has already tried to ice you."

"Ice me, I haven't heard that one since the third grade."

"Shut up." He pouts, kicking my chair.

The evening went like that until Sasori insisted that he had to go home and that he would pick me up tomorrow. I watched him leave from my window, and when he left I felt lonely and trapped in the mansion I was forced to call my home. I took the second cup of Tea Sasori brewed for me before leaving and headed up to my room, I doubted my parents would notice the missing car for a while with the rate they have been working. I close the door to my room and catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I look like shit. The shirt Sasori lent me barely touches my knees and my stockings are torn beyond repair. My hair is messy and my normal braid is loose, leaving a single wavy streak going through my hair. I put my mug down and head for my bathroom, deciding that a sponge bath would probably be better than not bathing at all. The act was harder than I thought, but I managed to not wet any of my bandages. Afterwards I washed my hair in the sink, and with all of that out of the way I decided that I should pick out my outfit for tomorrow. The thought in my head being that I would show up to school bigger and better than ever, showing off how strong I truly was, which meant that just for tomorrow, I would not wear green, but red in its place. I texted Ino and told her to do the same, that we would show off to those Oto bastards. I chose one of my favorite black shirts that Nori bought me, with black sequins on the sleeves and a flowy feel overall. Next I pulled out my red skirt with the black stitching and underneath I decided on bright purple fishnet leggings and gloves. For the piece de resistance I picked out my bright purple converse with the heels, and of course my purple vendettas scarf. I changed all of my earrings to black studs, and my bottom hole I put in safety pins, because Nori always said in a bad situation, having safety pins could get you out of any life or death situation. Mom and Dad never came home, which to be honest I was grateful for. I don't think I could ever explain to them what happened to the car. The rest of the night I just lay in bed, fighting to get to sleep, thinking of the evil glint Orochimaru had when I left the classroom. But then I smirk, thinking of how shocked he will be to see me in class tomorrow, and with that image, I fall asleep.


	8. The Reason She Cries

**Chapter Nine  
><strong> 

I smirked at myself in the mirror; my hair was done in its normal fashion my braid running through it and a thick layer of liner around my eyes. I heard the doorbell ring and I left my downstairs bathroom and headed to the front door. My parents had already left for work, big shocker there, so I did not have to explain to them about the car. I throw my purse over my shoulder and open the front door; Sasori stands waiting for me in his dark leather jacket and red v-neck shirt underneath. His pants are straight and dark wash, with the usual rips and tears, and a red cloud bandana sticking out of his back pocket.

"Did your parents ever come home?" he asks a questioning look in his hazel eyes.

"Yes I think so but they left before I woke up so I didn't have to explain to them the details. They probably didn't even know I was in my room, I fell asleep before they got home." I say, locking my door and walking to his car.

"Did you tell any of your friends about yesterday?" he questions, opening the car door for me.

"Chivalry, cute." I chuckle, hoping into the seat, "I thought it would be better to tell them in person." He nods and shuts the car door, crossing to the driver's side, "So how do you like my look?"

"Interesting, might as well paint a target on your chest and call it a day." He smirks, pulling out of the driveway.

"Well aren't you sweet," I reply sarcastically, leaning timidly against the back of my seat, "At least my back feels better."

"I can change your bandages at the art store, we're working tonight right?" he asks.

"Yeah I almost forgot, hey that reminds me Kakashi was my substitute for math, and he admitted to being in a relationship with Iruka-sensei, weird huh?" I question.

"Not really, I've known that, Iruka used to come to the art store all of the time just to catch a glimpse of Kakashi. Finally he got Kakashi's attention and they've been dating ever since. But it is odd that Kakashi was a substitute, what class?"

"Algebra two, he was filling in for Asuma-sensei."

"Weird, I didn't know Kakashi could do math." We both laugh at that.

"Hey there's Ino," Sasori points out, "looks like she is looking for you." I look at where Sasori is pointing. Ino is standing there dressed in a pretty purple long sleeved shirt with black skinny jeans and a red shrug on her shoulders, with red stilettos on her feet. He parks the car in front of her and her eyes widen slightly at the sight of me in his car.

"Thank you for the ride, I'll meet you out here at the end of the day." I say, hoping out of the car, "Later Scorpling!" he blushes lightly when I say that. I walk up to Ino and link arms with her, she has an evil little smirk on her face as we walk to the front of the school.

"So are you dating?" Ino asks, smirking widely.

"No I'll tell you why he drove me in a minute; I want the boys to be here." Her face automatically becomes concerned as we walk over to the group; Haku is sitting in Zabuza's lap, dressed in black leggings with dark denim shorts and a gray knit sweater, his hair pulled back in a bun with his bangs hanging in his face. Zabuza is wearing a black button up with regular jeans his hair as messy as always. Naruto is standing over them in bright orange jeans and a black v-neck shirt and a navy blue sweat shirt. Deidara is there too; leaning against the tree looking at Naruto's smiling face hair done up in its normal fashion. He's wearing a short sleeved black button up with a blue vest and a pair of paint covered jeans, the red cloud sewn over one of the holes in his pants.

"Hey cuties, want to know the scoop?" I ask, sitting down in the grass.

"Sure what's up hot stuff?" Haku asks, cocking his head to the side.

"Yeah tell us!" Ino says, sitting down next to me.

"I got into a car accident last night," I say listening to the gasps that sound off around me, Deidara does not look surprised, but he shows some concern, "Well not much of an accident."

"What do you mean?" Naruto questions, sitting down in the grass, pulling Deidara down with him.

"She means there was fowl play involved, un." Deidara sighs.

"Fowl play, was it the Oto?" Ino asks blue eyes wide with worry.

"Most likely, I got a bit scratched up but I'm ok, my poor baby isn't though, so until it is fixed Sasori will be my chauffer." I say, "Meaning we are not going out in any way shape or form except to work and maybe the Tea Shoppe."

"Alright, but are you sure your ok?" Ino asks, "It must have been bad if Sasori has to drive you around."

"It could have been worse, but because of that Pein wants us all to eat together. We need to be cautious the accident could have been a lot worse." Everyone nods, the bell rings and I stand up, "well time for History!"

"I'll see you guys in class, I'm going to walk Naruto to his Algebra class, un." Deidara says, throwing his arm around Naruto's shoulder.

"See you guys at lunch!" Naruto calls, smiling brightly at his friends as Deidara leads him away.

I smile and link arms with Ino and we begin to walk towards our history class. She has that far away look in her eyes again this morning, but not as bad as usual. I don't ask her about it, I've learned to just let her come back on her own. We walk into history class and take our normal seats. Sasori is in the back of the room; I look back at him and throw him a glare, which he returns with a smirk. Class starts soon after, Iruka makes us take notes, just another boring day. But I notice something odd about Ino's writing, as her sleeve rolled up her arm, I noticed a light purple bruise. She writes slow, cringing often as if the process of writing hurts. I decide not to ask about it, although something in my gut is telling me I should. She will tell me in time, we're friends, I just have to be patient with her. The bell rings, and Iruka assigns us a long homework assignment. I say goodbye to Ino, she stares at me blankly for a minute before saying bye and running off to her next class. I sigh and walk to Biology, surprised to see a sub in place of Orochimaru, but I also felt relieved. I took my seat beside Konan, she was dressed head to toe in black, black shirt and jacket, black jeans, and black combat boots. She gives me a friendly smile as I sit down beside her.

"How are you feeling today?" she asks, playing with a piece of square paper.

"I'm ok, could be better," I answer, " but the evil one is not here so I am happy I won't have detention."

"That's always a good thing," Konan chuckles, beginning to fold the paper into a crane, "How was the ride with Sasori?"

"It was ok, he's changing my bandages at work after school." I answer, watching as the sub knocks over a beaker.

"Poor fool, we'll never see him again," we laugh and continue talking throughout the rest of the period.

"Oh hey, Pein said he wants to see you on the roof, something about your car," Konan says at the end of the period.

"Ok well I'll head up there right now, thanks Konan, see you later." I smile, heading for the stairwell.

I jump up the stairs two at a time, cringing as my purse bumped against my back. I make it to the top and timidly open the door, looking around for Pein. I see him in his usual corner, snoozing. I close the door securely behind me before walking up to him, wondering if he is just faking it. I kick his foot; he lets out a loud snore but does not wake up.

"Pein wake up!" I scream, kicking him hard in the shin.

"Ow!" he shouts, waking up and grabbing his knee, "Who the fu- oh it's you. So you're not above kicking a man while he sleeps."

"Nope I guess I'm not, now Konan said you wanted to see me?" I say, sitting down in front of him.

"Yeah, we figured out why your car crashed," I wait for him to continue, "Someone cut your brake line, so all of the fluid drained out in the parking lot."

"I wonder if someone did it while I was in detention," I mumble to myself, "Ugh I hate the Oto."

"They're all not here again today, including Orochimaru, which worries me. I don't know what they're planning, but it can't be good."

"I'm more worried about them finding out where you and Konan live, with the leader disposed of the gang can either fall into disarray or join up with the opposing gang. It's a lose-lose situation." I mumble, leaning forward to far, I cringe.

"How is your back doing?" Pein asks, concerned.

"Its hurts, but it's a lot better thanks to Konan and Sasori. He's going to help me change my bandages at work today. Oh by the way like my look, I decided to show off my colors, although since the Oto isn't even here it doesn't really matter."

"Interesting, remember we are all eating lunch together today, I want to have a mini meeting about what happened yesterday,"

"Understandable, I just hope they don't freak out, I didn't exactly tell them I almost died."

"Well they will have to know how dangerous the position we are in is."

"You're correct of course, but then they will baby me because of it."

"As they should, you are fucking lucky you did not get hurt, if you had stayed in that car, well we both know what would have happened." I would have died I shiver.

"Well it's a good thing I know how to tuck and roll."

"I suppose, just don't try to test them, I want you to stay away from taunting or angering the Oto, it's obvious they don't like you."

"What was your first clue, all of the detentions I've gotten with Orochimaru or the fact that they tried to kill me?"

"The bells going to ring soon, go to class."

"When did you become my father, geez." I grumble standing, "See you at lunch,"

I walk slower down the stairs, keeping my bag more in front of body so as not to hit my back. I had heard that Asuma was out again so I was expecting to see Kakashi in the roll as the teacher. But when I walked into the room no teacher was in sight, but there was a very angry looking Sakura glaring up at an equally angry Uchiha, standing in a defensive position in front of Ino, who looks like a wreck, shaking. Kisame is standing right behind the Uchiha, his hand placed delicately on Ino's shoulder, trying to stop her shaking. I throw my bag onto the desk and walk over, taking a position right beside Itachi.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing Suck-ura?"I snap, she looks a lot less confident now.

"Whatever fuck you freaks," she grumbles and marches back to her seat.

"What the fuck did she do?" I ask Kisame, turning towards Ino, who is still shaking like a leaf.

"She started insulting Ino and calling her all these rude names, and then she whispered something we couldn't hear and Ino started to shake and that's when Itachi and I stepped in to stop her."

"Thanks guys, we'll move back and sit with you in a minute." I turn towards Ino and see tears forming in her powder blue eyes. I grab all of our stuff and grab her hand, tugging her out of the room and towards the girl's bathroom. I refuse to give Suck-ura the satisfaction that she made Ino cry. I lock the door to the room behind us after I am sure we are completely alone. I lead her into the corner and make her sit on the dry part of the counter, she seems completely distant. I'd only seen her do this once in my almost month staying here. She refused to talk all day and when I finally did manage to make her speak she only muttered a quick bye before walking away. The next day she was completely back to normal and when I started to bring it up she merely shrugged and said her throat hurt, although I'm sure that wasn't the case.

"Ino, what's wrong?" I ask, grabbing some paper towels to wipe away her mascara, it was starting to drip from tears that she didn't even seem to notice were falling. She blinked a few times, not even really noticing where she was, not even when I touched her cheek did she even acknowledge my existence, and it distressed me. "Ino?" I question again, pushing firmly under her eye, wiping away a thick layer of mascara and a bit of foundation on her cheek. What I notice is that she cringes in pain and when I pull away the paper towel a purple bruise is revealed underneath the thick layer of foundation I wiped away. She finally looks at me, the pain obviously getting a reaction, although I am not sure if it will be a good or bad one, "Honey what happened, where did you-"

"Its nothing," she answers quickly, "I bumped into a wall, I'm a dumb blonde, heh." She fake chuckles, covering the bruise with her hand, looking down at her lap with slightly wide eyes.

"Ino you don't have to lie to me, I'm your friend." I whisper.

"It's none of your fucking business," she shouts, standing up and backing away from me. I stare at her in shock; this is so not her character. Ino is always bubbly and happy, not so distant and angry. I stare at her, she is shaking and her eyes watch me like a crazed animal. I start to walk towards her and she pushes me hard against the counter, my back screams in pain and I bite my lip hard, trying not to cry out. She moves to the door unlocks it and bolts from the room, it takes me a minute to even process she is gone. I bolt out of the room after her but I'm already too late, I have no idea where she could have gone, and she left her stuff with me. I head back in and collect all of her stuff, deciding the safest place for it until I find her is in my locker. I grab my phone from my bag and text her phone, just to make sure it isn't in her bag, no sound comes from it. I lock my locker and tuck my phone into my purse. I decide to get a bird's eye view from the roof, and then working my way down from there. I contemplate texting the others, but I don't want them to worry, at least not yet. When I make it upstairs I am almost not surprised to find Pein there, sleeping in his usually position, snoring rather loudly. I let my bag fall down to the ground and run to the edge of the roof, weaving my fingers into the chain link and looking down. I see nothing, no one moving around the campus, at least, no one with blonde hair and purple bangs. I cuss quietly, and look on the right and left, even the back sides of the building, but nothing. And with my still limited knowledge of the building she could easily avoid and hide from me all day.

"Damn it!" I shout, kicking the fence with all of my might.

Bad idea, the kick combined with my already hurt back thanks to Ino caused me to fall to the ground. I tried to stand back up but I couldn't, it only hurt worse, so I simply let my body crumple closer to the concrete roof. Well today was turning out to be kind of shitty, but I guess lying there would give me more time to think. Like where exactly did Ino get those bruises, and what exactly did Sakura say to trigger that sort of reaction from her. This was so confusing, what exactly did Sakura know about Ino that I didn't? I know they were friends when they were little but what could she have on Ino now?

"What are you doing?" I look up to see Pein looking down at me.

"Convulsing in Pain?" I say in a questioning tone.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" he asks with a sigh, crouching down beside me and placing a hand on my back.

"Shouldn't you?"

"Touché, now what happened?" I explained to him the whole situation, from when I stepped into Algebra, to how I was now sitting awkwardly on my knees trying not to sit up to much and put pressure on my back.

"I see," Pein finally said, after a full five minutes of silence, "we'll see if she shows up at lunch and if not I'll have Gaara and Sasori go out looking for her alright?"

"I guess, care to help me up, the bell is going to ring soon." I sigh, I feel him wrap his arm around my waist and gently lift me up to my feet, then he helps me straighten my back, "Fuck that hurt."

"Did you expect it to feel like a massage?" I sent him a glare but he only gave me a half-hearted glare in return, "Let's go."

I followed behind him slowly, stretching out my back muscles slowly as we descended down the stairs. I'm worried, really worried, god I hate it when I get worried. I always freak out and get a short temper, I have to keep my cool, Ino is going to be fine. We are the first two at the Akatsuki lunch table, I wait patiently, everyone trickles in slowly Konan shows up first, followed by Naruto with Deidara and Gaara. Haku and Zabuza walk in with Itachi and Kisame, then Zetsu and Tobi. Last to show up is Sasori, Kakuzu and Hidan, who has a bloody silver lunchbox under his arm, still dripping. Everyone sits down and I start to get even worse when she still doesn't show up.

"Hey where's Ino?" Haku asks, looking around the table then at me, "Didn't you guys have Algebra together?"

"We did," I sigh, twisting my fingers together tightly, "I don't know where she is, something happened and she just ran off." Gaara looks over at me, his face is emotionless but his eyes are filled with concern.

"Maybe you should confront Sakura," Itachi says, "it is partially her fault."

"I'll go fuck the bitch up now," I growl, but Sasori pulls me back down.

"Get her after lunch when everyone is heading to class, no one will notice her disappear and that way you avoid detention." He says.

"Fine," I growl, "I just hate fucking waiting for shit, I don't know where she is."

"No one does, but it'll be fine, we'll find her," Konan says in a calm voice.

"And if the bitch don't talk I'll fucking cut her nappy ass weave off," Hidan chuckles.

"Thank you for that Hidan," I say, feeling a little better, at least everyone is concerned about where she is, not just me.

Lunch goes by slowly; I spend most of my time glaring daggers at the back of that bitch Sakura's head. I swear to god if looks could kill she would be dead ten times over. Sasori has to keep telling me to calm down because I keep clawing at the table; the claw marks are actually pretty deep. From what Kakuzu has told me the little bitch has Chemistry with Orochimaru next, which works out perfectly since his room is right next to a supply closet and a bathroom, two locations I could lock her in and force information out of her. Sasori, Gaara, Deidara, Itachi, Kisame, Pein, and Konan have all offered to help me since we are all in Art together and Anko won't give a shit if we're not there. Everyone else is stuck in a class that they cannot miss, they wish me luck and if we need any help in our search to give them a ring. Haku gives my hand a squeeze over the table; Zabuza gives me a sympathetic look.

"Ino's a tough bitch, I'm sure once you find her everything will be ok," Naruto says, giving me a confident smile.

"Thanks cutie, I'll ring you guys once we find her," I answer.

The bell sounds and I watch Sakura rise, throw out her lunch and head towards the door. I stand up and walk right behind her, following her until we come up to a bathroom. I grab her arm and yank her in, she tugs against my arm but I slam her up against the bathroom wall. She glares up at me, with pure hatred in her eyes, I glare back and she looks scared, as she should be. I hear the bathroom door open behind me and two sets of footsteps sound. Konan and either Itachi or Deidara I assume, I look and find Konan and Gaara, they'll work.

"What did you say to Ino," I growl, pushing her further into the wall.

"Why the fuck do you want to know," she asks, looking a bit smug.

"Oh you bitch, just fucking tell me before I drown you in the schools toilets," I threaten, dragging her towards the bathroom stalls.

"Ok geez you crazy bitch," she growls, "I just asked her if she was still Daddy's little girl."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I growl, pushing her further towards the stalls.

"Just that her when we were younger her dad would get drunk and beat her up, I thought he stopped though," she says, although now she almost looks human, actually worried, "Why is he still doing it?"

I push her hard into one of the stalls and she falls into the toilet, I don't laugh I just walk out, Konan and Gaara on my heels. Everyone else is outside, staring at me, I ignore them and head outside, my head spinning with the new information. It explains so much, the bruises on her body, why she doesn't like to be touched when she gets in her spacey mind set. She doesn't like to talk loud because she probably has to stay quiet when her Dad hits her so it ends more quickly. God I feel like the worst friend in the world, I have to find her. I head outside and begin to walk around, not really knowing where Ino would go; god there is so much I still don't know about her.

"Mayumi," I turn and look, it's only Gaara and Sasori, the others must have gone looking, Sasori looks at me slightly worried, "We're going to find her, let's calm down it isn't healthy for you to go running around right after your accident."

"I have to find her!" I say firmly, although to be honest I am getting tired.

"Gaara is going to go look around the outside of the school area," Sasori says, "I was going to ask if you want to look at the Tea Shoppe and Art store area."

"I guess it's better than wandering around not knowing where I am," I sigh, "Alright lets go, good luck Gaara, text if you find her." He nods and runs off at top speed out of the school.

"He's really worried about her," Sasori says, "Come on we'll drive around, I think Pein and Konan are doing that too."

"Alright," I sigh.

I just want to find her and tell her, I don't know what I want to tell her. What do you tell someone who is being abused? Hey it's going to be ok it'll stop soon? No I need to tell her I can protect her, I can take her out of that situation, the whole gang can, that's the whole point of a gang, protection of its members. I bet my parents wouldn't even notice if Ino moved in with us. But I'm getting ahead of myself; I need to find her first. We get to Sasori's car and climb in quickly, we pull out and begin to drive, I stick my head halfway out the window, scanning the right side of the streets. I don't see her anywhere, oh Ino where could you be.

"Let's walk around here for a bit," Sasori says, parking his car at the Tea Shoppe, "we'll walk around town a bit and come back here after."

"Yeah," I say, I hop out of the car and wait for Sasori, he comes to my side and we begin to walk around, looking down corners for Ino. After a while we get into a part of town I have never been in before, it's a bunch of little shops, all run down and broken, a nasty tattoo parlor, a few liquor stores, areas that I was familiar with, and from the look on Sasori's face, him too.

"I live a few blocks down from here," he says, "should we check in some of the shops?"

"Maybe, I mean-" I freeze when I notice a particular graffiti mark on the wall, it's the music note, painted over a door to an apartment building that is condemned, "You see that right?"

"Yeah, but we should not be focusing on that right now," Sasori says, quickly pulling us away from the wall quickly, "We'll mention it to Pein later."

"Alright," I look back at the building once more, a shiver running up my spine; could they really be in there?

We walk a little ways more, the street morphing into houses shifting between ranch style homes, apartment buildings, trailers, and a few regular houses split in half and posting rent on the fronts. This reminds me of a normal street in Kusogakure, the street I used to live on, my house was one of the nicest looking compared to the rest of the houses, but it still had problems, drippy roof and pipes, mold growing in the bathroom and basement, the occasional rodent running around. We stop outside of a rather nice looking ranch house, its gray with a choppy un-mowed lawn, a garage that is closed, and a tin chimney. The porch out front is covered in different planks of wood and sand is spread all across it like a beach.

"This is my house," Sasori says, "in case you ever need to know."

"It's nice," I say, smiling lightly.

"You don't have to lie; it's a piece of shit, it's nothing compared to your house." He sighs, staring at it defeated.

"No, I'm not lying, it reminds me of my old home," I insist, "besides that's not my house it's my parent's house." I pause when I feel my phone ringing in my pocket; I pull it out and flip it open and read the text from Gaara that flashes across my screen:

I found her.


	9. Finding Home

**Chapter Ten**

**Ino's POV**

I run, my mind running just as fast as my legs, although they still ache from dad kicking at my shins last night. Although that wasn't until his eighth drink. Drink one, a punch in the shoulder and a command for another drink. Drink two, backhanded across the face, I crawled into the corner and he fetched himself another drink. Drink Three and four, a kick to the stomach and a yank at my hair. Drink five, I got a bottle thrown at me, tried to pull out the glass flecks on my arms while he downed another. After drink six I got the bottle thrown at my back, god that hurt. Drink number seven involved the broken remnants of bottle six being slid across my arms. Then drink number eight, the kicking at my legs and shins, and a well-placed kick to my head rendered me unconscious for the rest of the night.

When I woke up I had a major headache, my legs were bruised and my cuts had sealed up for the most part. But I was used to it; it has been going on since I was little. Sakura's face flashes in my mind, "So are you still Daddy's little girl?" Heh yeah right more like Daddy's little punching bag. He does it because I look like my mother, and my mother ditched him for another man. It's sad that I don't hate him; it's understandable why he hates me, even though we both hate the same person. He hates my mother because she left him; I hate my mother because she left me. My legs carry me to the park, the one place I could escape when I was little, now I can't do that because I'm supposed to be an adult. I remember this park, when my mother would take me here and I would play on the swings and dream of the future. I walk over to the swings now and sit down, swinging lightly, letting my feet drag in the sand. I remember playing in the sand once, in Suna, with a boy whose face I cannot remember, and I remember loving my life. Then we had to leave, I never got to say goodbye, and then a few days after getting home, mom left. I let all of my mental strength at the moment focus on the ground, that I don't even notice the footsteps that approach me. I don't even notice that someone had sat down in the swing next to me, and is now watching me.

"Ino," the voices whispers softly, shocking me to my core, I turn quickly and am surprised to see Gaara, looking so handsome, so worried, sitting in the swing beside me, "where have you been?"

"Here," I answer meekly, his eyes are so deep, so vibrant.

"We've been so worried about you," he answers, reaching out to touch my cheek, I flinch away and he automatically stops, his face turning cold, like he is in pain, "I'm sorry, it's going to be ok."

"No its not," I answer quietly; we fall into silence for a bit, until Gaara comes out and says something completely unexpected.

"When I was ten my father tried to kill me on numerous occasions," I try to repress the gasp that escapes from my throat, "he hated me because my mother died bringing me into the world, he thought it was only fitting that he be the one to take me out. So he tried to kill me, he even had my uncle try and kill me, finally child services stepped in and sent me to live with my grandmother and cousin."  
>"I'm sorry," I whisper, it makes my whole life situation seem, small in comparison.<p>

"So don't think your alone, you have so many friends who care, my brother and sister didn't even help me when it was happening. But you have so many people, willing to take a bullet for you, everyone who was able to get out of class is out looking for you, and I'm sure if there weren't so many people looking for you already they would come and join as well." I feel tears start to well up in my eyes, Gaara reaches out to touch my cheek again, and I let him, he cups it gently, not putting any pressure on the bruise, he wipes away my tears, "why did you run away from Mayumi?"

"I guess I was scared," I mumble, looking down at the sand "Scared she would leave me when she found out what was happening, that she would just leave me behind like I was a toy that had no use, like my mom."

"Mayumi isn't that kind of girl; you and I both know that." I meet his gaze again, his eyes are so intense, so understanding, I have truly fallen in love with those eyes.

"I should apologize to her," I say.

"Come on, we'll go to my house and wait for her there, its pretty close by." He says standing up, he offers his hand to me and I take it nervously, "Then we'll figure out what to do about your home situation."

I nod and wait for him to let go of my hand, he doesn't and we begin to walk towards his house. His hands are so warm, for someone who is so stoic all of the time, I like it. I feel so safe; I thought that when I got a crush on Gaara that I would never confront him about it, that I would just watch across a distance. I didn't realize I could have so much in common with him, or how well our hands could fit together, or how much I truly do like him. I was so afraid Dad would ruin falling in love for me, but with Gaara by my side, I feel whole, complete, for the first time in a long time.

**Mayumi's POV**

I pace back and forth on the cracked sidewalk in front of Sasori's house, I had already texted anyone that the search was off and I had found Ino. I told them all to go home and that I truly appreciated the search effort with all of my heart. Pein only replied with, we are a group, a gang, a family, it is what we do. I smiled at that, but now I was nervous, I still didn't know what to say to Ino, how should I approach her? Sasori keeps telling me to calm down; my pacing is apparently making him a bit dizzy. He offered since we are at his house, to redo my bandages but I declined for the moment, to concerned with Ino, was she ok? How bad were her marks and bruises? I groan aloud and crack my neck, I am so tense, I could really use a drink right now, too bad I have work in another hour. I spin in a circle and sigh loudly, I hate waiting, I stop my spinning and see Ino and Gaara standing a few blocks down from us, Ino looks nervous, Gaara stoic. They're holding hands, god that is so cute, if I wasn't so worried I would totally squeeze all of the information of why they were holding hands out of her. She releases his hand and takes a few steps towards me; I wait, wondering what her next move will be. She looks back at Gaara, he simply nods and she turns towards me and begins to run right at me, throwing her arms around my neck in a very hard hug. I hug her back, not sure where to go from it, but it's nice that she is letting me touch her.

"I'm sorry I ran away, I was just scared of what would happen if I told you," she whispers, pulling away from me, "Forgive me."

"I don't want an apology," I say, "I want to know if you're ok, I was worried sick about you Ino, ever since you were acting weird on the second day of school. I don't like that something bad was happening and I wasn't there to support you, what kind of friend does that make me?"

"But-" she starts, but I stop her.

"Are you still hurt?" I ask, "Let's fix you up and then we can talk about it, ne?" she nods and I walk towards Sasori's house.

"You're just going to invite yourself in?" Sasori asks with annoyance.

"No you invited me in earlier, and now I am accepting your invitation." I say, opening the door, it isn't locked.

The room we enter is a living room; an oversized red couch is pressed up in front of the curtains that block light from coming into the room. A rather large TV is standing on an old dresser across from the couch, in the center they have a piece of window glass thrown over a black wooden box. Against the far wall is another couch covered in blankets and pillows, like someone has recently slept on it. I walk in and sit down on the sofa, smiling, it's comfy and reminds me of something that I can't quite put my finger on. Ino stands awkwardly next to me, not sitting down on the couch. Sasori shuts the door after Gaara comes in, who walks past the tv and down a hallway which I assume leads into a kitchen or bathroom area.

"The medical stuff is in the kitchen, it will be easier to treat your wounds in there," Sasori says, "I'll probably change your bandages now too."

"Cool, that means we'll match," I say to Ino with a small smile, she gives me a timid smile in return.

I stand and we follow Sasori down the hallway Gaara went down, it leads to a small kitchen. Four handmade chairs surround a rather nice kitchen table, which I'm pretty sure is homemade as well. The kitchen smells nice, clean, which I would not expect from two guys. I sit down backwards in the chair, looking over the smooth crafted frame up at Sasori, he is opening a cabinet above the sink, he pulls out a square medical kit and walks over opening it. Gaara comes into the kitchen from a side door, he's holding a small hand towel and a pair of tweezers, I wonder what he is expecting to find on Ino.

"Where are you hurt?" the panda asks, looking at Ino gently.

"Well," she takes a deep breath, "I think I might still have some glass in my back, I couldn't reach very well, and the cuts on my arms might be infected." Gaara leaves the room and comes back with a white wife beater, he hands it to Ino, she seems confused for a minute.

"Go change," he says firmly, "It will be easier to see the wounds and I can cut the back off of it and remove the glass without ruining one of your shirts. The bathroom is through that door right there." He says pointing at the door adjacent to the kitchen.

She leaves for a few minutes, and when she comes back I hold back my gasp of horror. Her skinny arms are covered with little red scratches and a few rather deep cuts; there is even one on her chest running from her shoulder blade down to the middle of her chest. I don't even want to know how bad her back is, I want to cry I feel so bad for her. Gaara pulls out one of the kitchen chairs for her and she sits down, he begins to work on her little cuts, rubbing them with a disinfectant before placing bandages and athletic tape around her wounds.

"Well let's get you out of that shirt," Sasori says, making Ino giggle.

"We didn't even go on a date yet," I whine, "And you're already demanding to do such lewd sexual acts, oh my you move fast."

"Just take it off," he sighs, "we have to go to work soon."

"Fine," I sigh.

I lift my shirt up from the back and pull it over my head keeping it on my arms and covering my chest. He slowly begins to undo my band aids and I hiss as he peels them away from my skin, god it hurts. He pulls out a spray from the first aid kit and sprays it on my back; it feels like fucking acid running all down my back, it's awful. Ino is now in a similar position as me, only Gaara has indeed cut his shirt to access her back, I see from here a few shimmering shards stuck in her back. Gaara slowly begins to pull them out, flinching whenever Ino lets out a cry or a whimper. Sasori is now beginning to re-wrap my back up, it's burning and I do not like the feeling of the material on it, not one bit.

"The good news is it's looking better than it did yesterday, " he says with a sigh, "But until it starts to at least scab over I don't think you will be able to shower."

"Maybe I should have you come over and give me a sponge bath," I say, turning around and giving him a wink, he blushes lightly.

"No thanks I don't do things like that for cheap." He says.

"Oh what do I need to do in return?" he blushes more, god this is fun.

"Oh crap we have to head over to work." Sasori says, "Maybe you should fix your shirt now." This time it's my turn to blush. I pull the black material back over my head, trying to cover up my lacy purple bra.

"Cute," he chuckles lightly. God I want to punch him, I am so embarrassed.

"So Ino are you going to stay here until Sasori and I are done with work?" I ask, "Then we can talk seriously."

"Sure, if it's not too much trouble." She says, looking between Gaara and Sasori.

"No trouble at all," Sasori says, "How about we pick up dinner on the way, anything you're in the mood for?"

"Cookies," Gaara answers quietly.

"You always want cookies, how about a meal." The scorpion suggests.

"I don't know," I interject, "Cookies do sound good, besides your car is by the Tea Shoppe anyway. We'll just get drinks and a bunch of cookies, it will be fine."

"I see your point," Sasori sighs, "Alright lets head out."

I give Ino one last smile before following Sasori out of the house, that familiar feeling still surrounding it. We walk down the streets, back into the familiar part of town, past the door with the Music note above it. I mention it to Sasori again and he just says we'll tell Pein later. We make it to the Art store just in time to start our shift. Kakashi is sitting on the counter chatting lightly with the blushing Iruka-sensei, upon seeing us he quickly excuses himself and leaves.

"Oh they're you go, always scaring away my cute little dolphin." Kakashi sighs, his bandana has a smiley face on it with a gunshot wound to its head, It amuses me.

"Not our fault he is afraid to be talked about by his students," Sasori grumbles, taking a seat at his normal cash register.

"Although those hickies you gave him left nothing to the imagination," I chuckle slyly, hopping up to sit on the counter next to Sasori's register.

"Oh you saw those huh, I just can't help myself," Kakashi sighs in a lazy tone, "He is just too adorable."

"Isn't he a little young for you?" Sasori questions.

"No we actually graduated the same year from Konoha high, although back then I was too much of a dick to ever talk to him, and now I'm like a sappy school girl with a crush on the teacher."

"Well it's always good to admit when you've been a complete dick, by the way where is my pay check?" I ask, remembering how I never got it the other day.

"Oh it's in the back, come get it after your shift is done, I'm going to go do arts and crafts." My crazy boss says, before disappearing into the back room.

"So he's going to read is porn book," I state.

"Yup, the usual for Kakashi," Sasori says, as he begins to fiddle with something in his hands.

I look closely and see it's a little puppet, with an arm and a leg missing from its smooth wooden body. I watch as he smooth's out the rough edges and begins to smooth out a part on the head, probably the space where the eyes are going to go, I think to myself.

"Do you enjoy staring at me?" he asks with a small smirk.

"Why do you not like it," I lean closer, "Would you prefer if I gazed longingly instead?"

"No I'd prefer it if you-" he stops and smirks, "I'd prefer it if you gazed at me with complete adoration for everything I have done for you these past few days,"

"What forcing me to strip in front of you twice, and no dinner?" I pout, "That's not something to admire it's something to abhor, you should be ashamed taking advantage of such a pretty girl like me."

"I'd rather take advantage of Reaver," he says, although I can tell he is kidding.

"Well that's just rude; at least with me you wouldn't get every STD known to man." He bursts out laughing and I can't help but join him.

The shift continues with senseless talking and random insults thrown back and forth, like it's a game of catch between the two of us. When it's time to clock out I collect my paycheck and we head for the Tea Shoppe. After fighting over which three cookies we should get for Ino and Gaara we leave with our drinks and dozen cookie platter and head towards Sasori's car. After placing all of the stuff inside I wait outside of the car.

"What is it?" Sasori asks, looking up at me from the driver's seat.

"Can you check your car first," I whisper, feeling a little childish, he gives me a look that I cannot define and gets out of his seat and checks the car, under the hood, and under the car itself, then all of the tires.

"It's fine, you feel better now?" he asks, I nod and hop into the car, feeling a lot safer now that I know it won't explode or anything.

The drive to Sasori's house is quick and we park inside of the garage attached to the house. He closes the doors and locks them, probably a good idea in this neighborhood. We enter the house with our makeshift dinner and find Gaara and Ino sitting closely next to each other on the couch, watching TV. They look up at us as we enter, looking slightly amused, I wonder why?

"We have cookies," I state, leaving the container open on the coffee table.

I pick up my caramel hot chocolate and sit down next to Ino, who is already munching on a cookie. I take one myself and begin to nibble on it as Sasori plops down next to me.

"Anything good on?" he asks to no one in particular.

"No," Gaara mumbles, "I was watching Maury but it ended, the guy is always the baby's father."

"I wonder if they ever have, are you the Baby mama," I wonder aloud.

"That would be weird," Ino says, her voice bubbly and happy, "how would it even work?"

"I don't know, the Baby could just be on a person's doorstep and they assume it's some other woman's baby, you know?"

"I suppose, channel surf, I wonder if Family guy is on." Sasori mumbles, shoving a cookie into his mouth.

"It's still too early for that, maybe we should just watch a movie," Gaara suggests.

"Ooh movies, where are they?" I ask, standing up.

"That box over there," Sasori points, gesturing to a cardboard box next to the TV.

I walk over and dig through the different movies, I smile when I come across an old favorite of mine from when my parents actually tried to communicate with my sister and I. I throw the movie at Sasori who catches it and gives me a 'what the fuck' look.

"Put it in, we're watching that," I answer, walking back to my place on the couch.

"Gangs of New York?" Sasori asks, "I had no idea you'd be into movies like this."

"Why not, Leonardo Dicaprio is hot." I say, "It's one of my favorites, now put it in!"

"That's what she said," Sasori chuckles.

"Oh so clever," I sigh, "Put on the movie!"

"Fine, calm down." He gets up and puts the movie in and Gaara puts it on the correct setting.

The movie goes by fairly quickly and when it's over I notice that Ino is leaning on Gaara's shoulder, how cute. I told him that she liked him; it's only a matter of time before they are an official item. I smile lightly and turn to look at Sasori, who is staring blankly forward. My heart skips in my chest. Wait what the hell was that? I turn and look forward; it's probably because this place feels so…god I still can't figure it out.

"I'm hungry," I state loudly.

"I told you we should have just got dinner, but everyone wanted cookies," Sasori sighs, "There might be something we can make in the kitchen."

I begin to walk towards the kitchen; Ino and Gaara remain on the couch, cute. I begin to look through the kitchen cabinets when Sasori walks in, looking at me slightly amused.

"What?" I ask, finding a stash of mac and cheese boxes.

"You left them in their intentionally didn't you?" he smirks.

"No, I just happened to be fucking starving and they just happened to not want to get up." I smirk, "Why do you think there clicking?"

"I think so," he says, "Gaara isn't usually good with girls but things seem to be going good with Ino."

"Wonderful," I sigh, pulling out two boxes of Mac and cheese.

"We can order something if you want," Sasori says.

"No its fine," I say, looking through the cabinets for a pot to put it in, "Besides Mac and Cheese beats out take-out every time."

"The pots are down here," he says, pulling out the bottom tray of the stove, he hands me up a rather large pan to use, "just so you know."

"Thank you, now why don't you be a dear and fetch me some measuring cups," he gives me a slightly irritated look before going in search of them.

I smile lightly; it's been forever since I've actually cooked my own food, even if it is from a box. I usually find leftovers in the fridge from Dinners I didn't even know occurred, or just eat out since that's easier than doing it myself. That feeling keeps bubbling up, and all I want to do is figure out what it is. Why I am feeling so strongly about this little ranch style home in the bad part of town? Sasori hands me the measuring cups and I add the indicated amount of water on the box, and then double it for the second box. Sasori sits down at the kitchen table and just watches me; he has that faraway deep thinking look on his face as he watches me search through his fridge. I grab the butter, and a carton of milk, shaking it to make sure it hasn't spoiled, it's good. Surprisingly I don't feel intimidated with the way he is staring at me. Usually I feel at least a little bit unsettled when someone has been staring at me for so long, but I feel, safer I guess.

"A watched pot never boils," he says out of the blue, after I've been staring at the water for a few minutes.

"But a watched girl does," I answer, smirking as he quickly looks away from me. I cross the room and take the seat next to him, "So do you guys live here alone?"

"Yeah, our grandmother just agreed to go stay in a nursing home," Sasori answers, "It's a lot nicer than this place."

"I don't know why you hate it here, I love it." I say, he looks so surprised.

"Why do you like it, it's nothing special." Sasori insists.

"I'm still trying to figure out why," I answer, I stand up as the water comes to a boil I pour in both boxes of macaroni, "I'm going to need a strainer in a minute."

He reaches above my head and pulls out a strainer and four bowls; his chest touches my back gently, making me blush. Why the hell do I keep doing that, it's just the fire crotch, it's not like I like him or anything. I let out a sigh of relief as soon as he is away from me; the strainer is now sitting by the sink and he is back in his seat. I stir the noodles occasionally, anything to keep me distracted with the look Sasori is aiming at my back. A few minutes go by and then Gaara and Ino walk into the kitchen, both looking a little sleepy.

"We wanted food," Gaara yawns, sitting down in a chair, Ino sits down beside him, rubbing at her eyes, "What are you making?"

"Mac and Cheese, the dinner of champions." I answer, lifting up the macaroni from the stove top and moving to strain the water out, "So Ino what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?" she asks, looking a little confused.

"Where are you going to stay?" I ask, leaning over the stove and shutting it off before putting the now waterless pan of macaroni back on the burner, "because I am not letting you go home."

"Well," she sighs, "I could talk to my aunt and see if she'll let me stay with her, she's the one who owns the flower shop."

"Well until then you're welcome to stay with us," Sasori says, "We have a spare bedroom."

"And if you get tired of living with the boys my parents' house is the size of a freaking mansion, I'm sure I could make you up a room and my parents would never know." I shout over my shoulder, stirring in the last cheese packet.

"Thank you so much you guys, I really appreciate it," Ino says, smiling, "I don't know how to thank you."

"You don't have to, it's what friends are for," Gaara says, giving her one of his tiny little smiles.

She blushes lightly and gives us another warm smile. I dish out the Mac and cheese and we eat with quiet conversation passing between us. After our dinner we return back to the living room and curl up on the couch, Ino leaning into Gaara and me throwing my legs over Sasori's. Family Guy flashes on the screen and as our quiet laughs and different little quips fill the room I finally figure out the feeling that has been bubbling up in me ever since I've seen this house. I smile, looking at the three people to my left. Sasori with his eyes looking bored with a small satisfied smile on his face. Ino with a light blush painting her bruised cheek, leaning into the arms of her obsession. Gaara, who has his arm on the back of the couch behind her head, looking content with how close the two of them are. I lean my head back against the couch, feeling better than I have ever felt in a long time. This place, this little house in the bad part of town, feels like home.


	10. Party at Pein's house

**Chapter Eleven **

My head is fuzzy, my dreams all filled with colorful globs, I don't want to open my eyes, but my body is telling me to awaken. My head seems to be moving up in down in a steady rhythm, and my whole body is close to something rather warm. I cuddle closer to it; maybe if I warm up a little I'll fall back asleep. But my mind just comes more awake, I open my eyes, blinking against the light of the TV screen. Ino is now curled up into Gaara's lap, leaning her head into the crook of his neck. Gaara has his eyes closed but doesn't look like he is sleeping at all. I look up at what I'm leaning on and see Sasori, who looks like he is sleeping. My body is pressed up against his side, my head resting against his chest. His arms are wrapped loosely around my waist, and when I try to sit up he tugs me closer, pulling my body closer to his, I blush. He feels nice, comfortable for someone who seemed like such a dick when I first met him. I am tempted to just fall back asleep again but I need to get home and at least grab some clothes for the day. Still blushing I try to pull away from him again moving his hands slowly away from my waist, he groans and his eyes flutter open. He looks up at me blankly, then looks down at the position we are in. His face turns a lovely shade of red and he pulls his hands away from my body, looking flustered.

"Sorry," he mumbles, as I slide off his lap.

"It's alright, do you think you could drive me home." I ask, "I just need to pick up some clothes for Ino and I."

"Its 1 in the morning," he states, blandly.

"So, drive fast and we'll be back before its one thirty." I sigh, standing up and stretching my limbs, "I refuse to let people think I'm doing a walk of shame."

"Not too late for that," Sasori chuckles in a sexy voice, well that's new.

"Hey you still owe me two dates; you aren't getting anywhere this morning." I say back, "Now drive me home my lovely chauffer!"

"Geez keep it down, come on lets go," he sighs.

We walk out to his car, he unlocks the garage doors and he pulls out. We begin to head towards my house; the streets are empty so it's a quick ride. We pull into the parking lot and I see that my mother's car is in the drive way, my Dad's is nowhere to be found. God he's working this late? The lights are all out and we walk quietly up to the front door. I unlock it and walk in, but then stop when I realize he isn't following me.

"You can come in you know." I whisper, "Come on the sooner we get my stuff the sooner we can leave."

"If you're sure," he mumbles, we walk up the stairs and into my bedroom. He stands awkwardly in the doorway.

"Shut the door smart one," I shout as quietly as possible.

He flashes me a smirk and shuts the door quietly. I walk into my closet and begin to grab a few outfits that Ino and I could choose from for tomorrow. I check on Sasori really quick and see him examining the water color picture my sister gave to me.

"Did you paint this?" he asks, looking over his shoulder at me.

"No my sister did, she's a lot better at painting then I am," I say, "All of my pictures are on my vanity," I say, pointing towards the large piece of furniture.

He crosses the room to look at them, as I pack the last of the clothing up in one of my oversized handbags. I walk out of my closet and walk up behind him, he is examining the picture I drew of the faceless boy in the field.

"You're pretty good," he says, placing the painting down lightly.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it," I whisper, I look out the window and gasp as I see my Father's car is in the driveway, with my father not in it, "Oh crap you have to hide, um." I look towards my bathroom and grab his arm quickly and push him inside, "Stay in here until I'm sure my Dad is asleep." He tries to say something but I shut the door in his face before he can reply.

Just as I shut the door a knock resonates from my bedroom door, I walk over quickly and open it slightly to reveal the tired face of my Dad. God it's been a week since I've seen him, it's almost like looking at a stranger.

"Hey you are home," he says with a loud yawn, "Whose car is that in the driveway?"

"Oh it's my friends- my friend's brother's car," I say quickly, "I'm staying with her for a few days while her parents are out of town and we came over quickly to get some clothes."

"Ok well where is she?" he asks, looking around my room.

"Oh she's in the bathroom, it was an emergency," I whisper like it's some sort of girly secret, he nods and yawns again.

"Well I'm going to bed, see you in a few days honey, I love you." He says, giving me a hug.

"I love you too Daddy, night." He walks down the hall and I watch as he enters his bedroom and the door shuts, "My god that was close."

I close the door and walk to my closet, throwing in a few extra outfits in case I decide to stay over a little longer at Sasori and Gaara's house. I throw the bag over my shoulder and knock on the bathroom door, just in case he decided to use the bathroom for real. He opens it and walks out, giving me a glare.

"What are you glaring at, I pretty much saved your life," I hush, "Daddy would have you hanging by your nuts if he caught you in my room."

"You could have told me your Dad might show up, I could have stayed in the car." He sighs.

"You'd be dead if you were in the car too," I look out into the hall; Dad's snores have already filled the entire house, "Alright lets go."

We sneak quietly out of my house and all but run to his car once we are out the front door. Once we are a safe distance away I let out a sigh of relief; that went well given the circumstances. Sasori drives at a steady pace through the empty streets, nobody is around, it's almost like a ghost town. We make it back to the house in record time; Sasori pulls into the garage and shuts down his car.

"Well that was fun but I'm fucking tired," he sighs, "did you grab any pajamas?"

"God damn it!" I growl, smacking my head with the back of my hand.

"I should have reminded you," he says, stepping out of the car and going to lock up the garage door. I step out as well and watch him lock up, "You can borrow some of my clothes, no big deal."

"Cool beans," I say, "Hurry up I'm so fucking tired."

He finishes with the locks and we walk back into the house. Gaara and Ino are still curled up against each other on the couch, it's so adorable. I follow behind Sasori as he leads me to a room down the hall from the kitchen. He opens one of the two doors in the hall and I follow him inside, into his room. The walls are painted a tan color with black curtains hanging over the window by his neatly made queen sized bed. The thing that catches my eye is a large tool bench covered in different types of puppets. I can't help but walk over and look at a few, they're so well done. I pick one up and realize after turning it over a few times that it is a puppet version of Gaara I am holding, complete with the little Ai tattoo on his forehead. I hear him come up behind me, as I pick up a different puppet, one that looks exactly like Hidan, with silver hair, no shirt and a little Jashin symbol around his neck.

"These are incredible," I gush, turning to look at him, "How do you have the patients to make so many, and so perfectly too."

"I learned from my grandmother," he says, handing me a pair of boxers and a large red shirt, "These should fit you alright."

"Thanks," I say, "Now get out I need to strip."

"Well I have already seen you without a shirt on," he starts.

"Do you want to make it three dates? I don't come cheap honey, you will need three paychecks to get anywhere with all of this hotness," I say, cocking out my hip.

"Fine I'll leave," he chuckles, exiting the room.

I sigh and strip out of my clothes, folding them up and throwing them into my bag, I slip into the clothes Sasori gave me, he wasn't kidding the shirt goes down to my knees, covering the black and red boxers he gave me. But they're comfortable, I sigh and throw myself onto his bed, it creaks lightly and I bounce on it a bit before settling down into the black covers. It smells nice, like spice and some sort of cologne that isn't too overpowering, it smells like Sasori. I curl up on my side and bury my head into his pillow, closing my eyes. After a few minutes of silence a knock sounds from the door.

"Are you done in there," Sasori calls, I grumble a reply and he comes in, I peak through my lashes and see he has changed into a pair of black pajama pants and has lost his shirt, he's actually got a good amount of muscles, I close my eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Sleeping fire crotch now shut up and go to sleep." I grumble.

"Getting kicked out of my own bedroom," he sighs; I groan and grab his arm.

"No," I say, pulling him down onto the bed, "You sleep in your bed, I sleep in your bed, it's big enough."

"But I haven't even taken you on a date yet," he says sarcastically.

"Only if you touch me," I yawn, "Shut up and sleep puppet boy."

"Fine," he grumbles, rolling over, "Night midget bitch,"

"Night fire crotch."

I groan as an alarm begins to buzz in my ear, I lean out and shut it off before falling back onto the bed, half of my body engulfed in something warm. I open my eyes and find my head is resting against Sasori's chest, his arms wrapped around my waist once again and my leg is thrown over his waist, resting dangerously close to, I blush and pull myself away from him quickly.

"Hell," I grumble, rubbing at my head, that's the second time I've woken up in his arms and I haven't really wanted to move.

"Oh you guys moved," Ino pouts, she's standing in the doorway with a camera in her hands, "I was going to take a picture."

"Put that fucking camera away, you're lucky I woke up before you got pictures or I would have beaten you," she gives me a smirk, "oh laugh now, but think of the talk when you walk in to school wearing the same outfit you did yesterday."

"Oh no I didn't think about that," Ino cries, "what am I going to do!"

"Well if you apologize I did have Sasori drive me home last night for some clothes." I say, climbing out of his bed, his arm slipping down from my side.

"Oh my you're even wearing his clothes!" Ino squeals.

"Oh god," I groan, "be quiet for the love of god," I walk to the corner and grab my bag, I push her out of the room and shut the door behind us, "He's sleeping you need to calm down." She smirks but doesn't say anything.

I go through the bag and quickly pull out a pair of paint splattered Skinny jeans and throw them at her, along with a black tank top and purple half shirt. She catches them quickly and goes to the bathroom to change while I pull out my outfit for the day. I grab my sleeveless purple a-line shirt and a small leather vest, with a pair of my own black skinny jeans. I wait patiently for her to get out of the bathroom when I hear Sasori's bedroom door creak open. He walks out, dressed in a pair of tight grey jeans and a black and red t-shirt with his leather jacket. He looks extremely tired, and just looks at me blankly for a few minutes.

"Morning darling," I say, "Did we wake you?"

"No," he grumbles, "My alarm went off again."

"Oh weird, I thought I shut it off, sorry." I say, "Now get out of your room I need to change."

"Fine, I'm going to go make breakfast." He says, walking down the hall towards the kitchen.

"Make Coffee!" I shout after him, before locking myself in his room.

I change quickly and leave the bag of clothes on the floor in his room, along with the makeshift pajamas he lent me. I walk out, combing my fingers through my hair; Ino is in the hallway dressed in the outfit I gave her. Her pony tail is fixed and neat, and her face, although still slightly purple looks a lot better than it did yesterday. I smile and we walk to the kitchen, Sasori is cooking eggs from what it looks like and Gaara is sitting at the table, flipping through a newspaper.

"How did you sleep my peeps?" I ask, taking my seat at the table.

"I don't sleep," Gaara answers, "Not often anyway."

"Oh do you have Insomnia?" Ino asks, looking slightly concerned.

"I've had it since I was little," he replies, "I probably only get a few hours of sleep a month, if I'm lucky."

"That's gotta suck," I sympathize, "so is that why you wear so much eye makeup?"

"I suppose, it covers up the dark circles," he mumbles, "Although I'm not wearing any right now."

"But the rings are so dark," Ino says, reaching out to touch one, but she quickly retracts her hand, "Sorry."

"No its ok, you can touch if you want," he says, leaning closer to her, she blushes as runs her finger under his eye, I stand from my seat and walk over to Sasori, hopping on the counter next to him.

"Coffee!" I cry, "Bring me some of that caffeinated bliss!"

"Are you always this loud in the morning?" he asks with a yawn, before handing me a cup filled with black coffee.

"No I usually don't talk at all, since there is no one at home to talk to," I sigh, reaching for the milk that is sitting on the counter, "pass me some sugar?" he hands me over a bowl and I begin to spoon in the little crystals.

"Does anyone mind cheese in their eggs?" Sasori calls out.

"Well if they do mind I don't care, cheese it up!" I shout.

With a grunt in reply cheese is added to the scramble of eggs and soon our breakfast is complete. We sit at the table, eggs on our plates and coffee cups full and I can't help but smile. Breakfast, when was the last time someone actually made breakfast in my house? We eat quickly, and before I know it we are all piling into Sasori's car and on our way to school. It seems like the most normal thing in the world. We arrive at school and pull into a parking spot, everyone is standing in the parking lot waiting for us, oh my.

"Hey peeps what's up?" I ask, stepping out of the passenger seat.

"Well we originally came out here to check on Ino," Haku says, "But-"

"Someone put a fucking bomb threat in the god damn school." Hidan interrupts, which earns him a smack in the head from Kakuzu.

"And before anyone asks," Deidara starts, "It wasn't me, un."

"No it was probably the Oto," Sasori sighs, "but they'll probably look to you first."

"I don't doubt it, but I've got an alibi this time, un!" Dei cheers, throwing his arms around Naruto, who blushes, "I was hanging out with Blondie all night, yeah." Oh I so need to grill Naruto for the details.

"So are you feeling better Ino?" Konan asks walking over to my blonde friend, Haku follows suit.

"Yeah I'm a lot better, I still need to get all of my stuff from my house and talk to my aunt," She sighs, "But I'm feeling so much better."

"That's good," Haku says, "It's good to have you back."

"Oh come here," she sighs and envelopes Haku in a hug.

It's around this time that I notice Tsunade off in the distance approaching with Shizune at her heels. Sasori is watching too, we exchange a 'this is not going to be good' look. Deidara notices there approach too, detaches himself from Naruto. Naruto of course instead of backing off holds on to Deidara's hand, god it's so cute. Tsunade notices the contact as she approaches and strange look of concern flashes across her face, but is quickly replaced by a professional face. She stops in front of the two, then looks around our entire group. Her eyes stop on Ino, Haku, and I a little longer, and even longer still on Naruto, who seems to shrink under the gaze. She finally turns her full attention onto Deidara, who seems to straighten up under the gaze.

"I'm only going to ask you once Mr. Iwa," She growls, "Are you responsible for this?"

"No Sensei I am not, un." He answers in a calm voice.

"Where were you last night Mr. Iwa"

"I was with Naruto, un." He answers, Tsunade looks a little flustered at that.

"Naruto is this true?" she asks.

"Yes," Naruto answers, "I told you I had a friend sleeping over."

"Yes but I thought-" she stops and sighs, "Fine you get off this time Iwa, I'll see you at home Naruto." Then she leaves, looking rather pissed off.

"God your grandmother is scary, un." Deidara sighs, "But I'm off the hook, score, un!"

"Yes fucking wonderful," Hidan grumbles.

"You don't think the Oto would put an actual bomb in the school do you?" Haku asks.

"Who knows," Pein growls, "we don't know what they could do, that's what makes them so dangerous."

We wait around a bit longer, wondering if we are going to go into classes or just stand around all day. After about ten minutes Tsunade announces in the parking lot that school is cancelled until the building has been searched by the police. There will be a call going out tonight to determine if we would have school tomorrow as well.

"Well waking up this morning was a waste of time," I sigh, "What should we do now?"

"Party at Pein's house!" Hidan shouts.

"I'm cool with that," Kisame says, "What do you think Itachi?"

"Might as well." The Uchiha answers.

"Hey don't I get a say in what happens at my own house?" Pein protests, as everyone begins to walk to their cars.

"No, but if you don't want the locks blown off the front door I suggest you get to your house first, un." Deidara chuckles, tugging Naruto over to his car.

"Let's go," I shout, tugging on Sasori's arm, "I want to play Fable!"

"Are you guys ok with going?" he asks looking over at Ino and Gaara.

"Sure, but I do need to go to my Aunt's house later," Ino says.

"We can do that on the way home," I gush, "Fable is waiting for me!"

"Are you going over Haku?" Ino asks our feminine friend.

"For a little while," Haku says.

"I'm thinking of taking him on a date since we have the day off," Zabuza says.

"Cute," I chime in, "Now let's go, I wish to defeat the darkness!"

"Alright, we'll see you guys at Pein's," Ino says, hoping into the back of Sasori's car.

The ride over was quick, we were almost the last people to pull in, Zabuza was right behind us. I practically ran into the house to start the Xbox, I really need to buy one once I get my next pay check. The thought of money makes me think of my car, and I decide while the game loads to go look for Kakuzu to ask about my baby.

"Hey Kakuzu," I shout, when I see him in the living room pulling penny's out of the couch.

"What do you want chibi?" I flinch at the word but decide to ignore it.

"When is my car going to be fixed?" I ask, he sighs and sits up, shoving the change into his pocket.

"Well I think it will take a lot longer than I originally anticipated," I know he is talking about how it practically blew up.

"Yeah I know it's going to take a long time, but how long are we talking?" I ask.

"A good few months," he answers, rubbing the back of his head.

"Alright," I sigh, damn this sucks.

"It's going to cost a bit more than I expected as well," so I guess I'm not getting that Xbox.

"I figured as much," I sigh, "How much are we talking here?"

"I'll let you know," he answers.

"If you're sure," I reply back, "Well I'm going to let you get back to looking for pocket change." He grunts and moves on to the next couch, god he is weird.

I walk back into the front living room, Sasori is loading my profile for me and I sit down and grab the controller from his hands. He smirks before starting up his own profile and adding himself to my game. We then pick up where we left off, in Bowerstone Industrial, performing random missions for the resistance.

"I am so going to beat this game today," I announce to no one in particular.

"By doing good or evil deeds?" Sasori asks with a chuckle.

"Oh Sasori all of my intentions are pure," I say in an accent, "Some people just don't seem to agree that the orphanage should be a whore house."

"Oh my," he says in a Reaver tone, "And I thought you hated Reaver."

"I do," I answer, "But let's not talk about him outside of the bedroom."

We laugh and continue on through the game. Ino and Gaara wander around the house, Gaara showing Ino random places of interest. Haku and Zabuza retire to sit on the porch with Kisame and Itachi. Zabuza and Kisame get along quite well, and soon the boys are talking like they've been friends forever while Haku makes gentle conversation with a rather quiet Uchiha. Hidan is running around looking for a weapon to try and kill a cat that had gotten into the backyard of the house. Kakuzu after giving up searching for pennies tries to stop him, yelling about another lawsuit. Deidara is showing Naruto some of the upstairs rooms, including a little art studio that he shares with Sasori. Zetsu is in the garden in the backyard, weeding out plants while Tobi twirls around singing about how pretty flowers are. Konan is looking through a magazine in the den, with Pein's head in her lap, he is sound asleep. She chuckles and messes with his hair, which causes him to snore loudly. All is well at the Akatsuki base.

Unknown POV

"She looked fine when I fucking saw the bitch," Tayuya growls, kicking a chair, "Looks like you didn't scare her enough four eyes."  
>"God your mouth is awful," Jirobo sighs, leaning back against a wall, "You should cool it."<p>

"Fuck you fat ass my mouth is fine!" She growls.

"Calm down Tayuya you're going to piss off the boss," Ukon hisses.

"The last thing we want is him to be angry," Sakon adds in.

"Oh shut up all of you," the boss shouts, throwing a glass at the wall, it shatters and everyone falls silent.

"Sir-" Kabuto tries to interject.

"She was unaffected, and on top of it all the stupid blonde bomber didn't get in trouble," Orochimaru sighs, "well I suppose the best thing we can do right now is let them sweat it out. The longer we don't attack them the more jumpy and nervous they will get. It gives us time to come up with a rather brilliant plan, get to work!"

"Yes sir!" Everyone says.


	11. Whoppers

**Chapter Twelve**

**Weeks later**

After what seems like forever my life has finally fallen into a normal routine. Ino talked with her Aunt and moved in with her, she had yet to talk to her father about any of the incidents and she refused to take him to court. Even though she moved in with her aunt we still spent an ungodly amount of time at Sasori and Gaara's house. It just seemed like we would end up there almost every day. It was better than going home to an empty house. Sasori and Gaara didn't seem to mind at all. We actually developed a ritual where we would sleep over there house on Friday night, eat mac and cheese, and fall asleep on the couch watching old movies. Gaara and Ino had grown incredibly close I must say, although Gaara had yet to admit his feelings for Ino to her face, which was making Ino slightly self-conscious about herself. But it was coming, I knew he would just need a push and then they would be on the boat to relationship falls. Deidara and Naruto were getting pretty close too, although Naruto was feeling hesitant about jumping into a relationship too soon. Deidara was starting to slow down with his flirting as well, which was making Naruto a lot more comfortable.

Then on to me, I still had yet to find my special someone, but I was alright with that. I was having a lot of fun hanging out with everyone, more surprisingly I was having a lot of fun hanging out with Sasori, which is a big shocker to me. But I suppose after waking up in someone's arms on more than one occasion you get used to them. I still insult him during school, and he throws them back when he could. The Oto had not struck since the whole bomb in the school incident. No one really seemed all too concerned about it; at least no one showed it. I was too excited about the Halloween party we were going to. I'm a big fan of the Halloween season, mostly because I could get away with wearing a costume to school with no one giving a shit about it. My friends didn't seem to share my enthusiasm at first but I soon got them into the spirit. Ino is now especially excited because she and Gaara were going to be in a couple-ish kind of outfit. Him a knight and her a princess. Sasori and I planned that of course, and even had our own sort of costumes made up. I convinced Sasori that he should be a zombie, with bloody organs and fake scars, the works. He agreed, although it took some persuading and quite a few caffeinated drinks to do so. The entire Akatsuki was going, the party was going to be at some kid named Kiba's house, and apparently he throws the best parties when his parents go away. It was the Friday before the big party and we were at the lunch table discussing the whole party.

"The Oto won't be there of course," Kisame chuckles, "All the honor students stay home and study on Halloween, oh except Itachi of course." He corrects as soon as he notices the glare his black haired friend is sending him.

"It's been forever since I've been to a good party," I gush, "is this going to be the works or what?"

"Well there will be dancing and drinking," Naruto answers, "Oh and he has a whole room dedicated to karaoke and Dance Dance Revolution!"

"Oh I am so excited!" Ino cheers, "and the best part is Suck-ura did not get an invite."

"Yeah no fish smell stinking up the fucking party," Hidan cheers, "It's a fucking miracle!"

"Oh Konan did you get your outfit?" Haku asks, "You were worried it wouldn't come in on time."

"I got it, but it's a lot shorter than I expected," Konan blushes lightly.

"Well what did you expect when you said you wanted to be a French maid for Halloween, a turtle neck and a skirt that covers your ankles?"

"No I just didn't expect that it wouldn't at least go down to my knees," she sighs, "at least it makes my ass look good." That makes Pein spit out some of his water.

"When do I get to see this outfit?" he asks.

"On Halloween," Konan chides, "Because I know if you see it on me any sooner you're going to ruin it."

"Oh my is this a proper conversation to have at the table?" I ask.

"Tobi is right here, THE IDIOT WON'T GET IT!" Zetsu argues with himself.

"That Konan and Pein are talking about having Sex Zetsu-san?" Tobi asks.

"Alright who taught him how to say that word, I'LL KILL THE FUCKER!" Zetsu growls.

"Tell us what is Sex Tobi?" Itachi asks, looking down at his cousin.

"Well Sex is when you and someone you love hold hands and write a letter to the stork asking it to send you a baby," Tobi answers, "Tobi thinks Pein's grammar must be bad because they haven't gotten a baby yet."

"Oh my god," Hidan shouts and begins to laugh hysterically, "it's too fucking funny for words!"

"My grammar is just fine Tobi," Pein sighs, putting his head in his hands.

"Oh then Tobi must think you guys are just practicing, but you need to be careful, cause if you accidently send that letter to the Stork you're going to get a baby." Tobi scolds, much to everyone's amusement.

"COME ON TOBI; let's get you some more milk." Zetsu sighs, leading Tobi away from the table.

"I wonder what sex he will be attracted to, I hope he bats for boys," I say.

"I think he is," Deidara sighs, "but only because he spends so much time with Zetsu, what do you think Konan, un?"

"I think we'll find out when we find out," she sighs, and with that the bell rings and we are off to art class.

I take my normal seat next to Gaara, who is finally done with his collage of pictures for Ino. He added a whole bunch more, making the entire thing about the size of a desk. Seems all of the time he spends actually being with her inspires him immensely. He is working on another picture, but this time it's just a charcoal drawing of Ino, sleeping on the couch in the living room. The picture I'm drawing is actually of a similar scene. It's all four of us, Ino, Gaara, Sasori, and I, staring out of the picture all crowded on the couch. My hands just seemed to move on their own on this one, I just couldn't stop them. Anko would be collecting a piece of our artwork to enter into a competition, and I had decided as soon as I finished the coloring on Sasori's hair that I had to turn in this one. She collected everyone's pieces quickly, throwing out comments as she goes. With that class is left to do whatever they please, as per usual since Anko is the type of teacher who does not like to be restricted by schedules and rules.

"I am so going to win this competition, un!" Deidara cheers, leaning back in his seat as if he has already won.

"Don't get overconfident brat, everyone has a chance at winning, not just you." Sasori sighs, nudging at the blonde's chair.

"Yes but wait until they see my explosive style, un!" Deidara cheers.

"He made a time bomb, great," Itachi says lazily, "Our school is going to get kicked out of yet another art competition."

"Don't be such a stick in the mud Itachi, un." Deidara whines, "I hope your planning on having fun tomorrow, un."

"Hn," the Uchiha answers, which causes Kisame to chuckle lightly.

"What's your Halloween costume going to be Itachi?" I ask, giving him a smile.

"It's a surprise," Kisame answers, throwing his arm over Itachi's shoulder.

"Well I'm dressing up as a biker, un." Deidara chuckles, "I got the leather pants and everything, un."

"Yeah all you're missing is the bike," Sasori says, causing everyone to laugh.

"Well what are you dressing up as?" Kisame asks.

"A zombie or something, I don't know." Sasori sighs.

"Isn't Hidan dressing up like a zombie though, he might get mad if you guys are wearing the same outfit." Pein points out.

"We'll figure it out," I chime in, "So what are you dressing up as Pein, since I'm sure you're not going to let Konan go alone in such a skimpy outfit."

"Vampire lord," He answers, "They had maids so it works."

"I suppose but I don't think they're maids were French." Sasori says.

"Shut up," Pein sighs.

The bell rings and we all flood out of the room, I am bubbling with excitement, I love Halloween. I throw all of my stuff in my locker and walk over to Ino, who is putting her stuff in her locker as well. We smile at each other and I wait patiently for her to finish up so we can go meet the boys by their car. Gaara is already there, leaning against Sasori's car looking rather handsome in a pair of old denim jeans and a simple tight fitting black shirt. She rushes over to him with a small smile on her face, I hang back to give them some privacy. Sasori comes up beside me a few moments later, dressed in a pair of paint splattered jeans and a black and red striped sweatshirt. His gaze falls on Gaara and Ino who are lightly chatting and flirting and sighs.

"Think Sasori, soon we will be the two sitting awkwardly on the couch while they swap spit." I sigh, throwing my arm over his neck.

"I really did not need to envision that," he sighs, letting his arm fall to my waist, "they grow up so fast."

"Soon they'll be finding their own place," I sigh, "oh dear it's going to be so lonely without them around at home."

"We'll pull through somehow, won't we honey." Sasori answers, finally the situation Is too much and we begin to laugh.

"Oh lets go home, I wish to devour the cheese of mac!" I shout, rushing over to the car.

Sasori just laughs as he follows me to the car. Ino and Gaara climb into the back and Sasori pulls out and we begin home. I'd hate to admit how much I had grown to love spending time with these three. Ino is so sweet and I could tell her anything, Gaara is stoic and I enjoy talking to him in art class, and Sasori although I had hated him at first I was growing a lot closer with. I guess that happens when you need someone at your back changing your bandages and driving you places. We stopped by the Tea Shoppe on our way home, and buy a whole bunch of cookies and our usual drinks. We would devour the cookies as soon as we got home, watch a movie, and then move on to the Mac making and devouring. The smell of chocolate and pumpkin hangs in the air, the Tea Shoppe was taking out a tray of fresh cookies. Sasori and I already had our usual drinks and were sitting down while Ino and Gaara ordered the cookies, Gaara took cookies very seriously.

"Hey what are we going to do about my costume?" Sasori asks, taking a sip at his coffee.

"Well you know how we have an afternoon shift at work tomorrow?" he nods, "And that afterwards we're going to the party?"

"Yeah, please elaborate."

"Well before work we are going to IParty and I have the best idea to take the costume you already have and change it into something even better." I gush, spinning my cocoa cup around in my hand.

"Care to tell me what that is?" he asks with a smirk on his lips.

"Nope, it's going to be a surprise." I wink.

"What exactly are you doing for your costume?" he asks.

"Another surprise my dear," I say, standing up as Gaara and Ino come over, "Time to go."

Later in the night we were sitting around on the couch, an old cowboy movie playing across the screen and empty bowls from dinner still lying dirty on the coffee table. Ino and Gaara had already curled up around each other and fallen asleep. I had my legs thrown over Sasori's lap, my head resting on his shoulder, he has falling asleep. I could tell by the way his chest was slowly rising and falling, my head moving with his breathing. Ok so now you're all probably thinking stuff because I'm cuddling with Sasori, but it isn't like that. He is just really comfortable, and he does smell rather good, and my only source of comfort. He's the only one who knows that my parents are never home, I haven't even told Ino and the others. I curl closer to him, and he sighs lightly and places his hand more firmly on my hip bone and his other placed just above my knee. His head falls gently on top of mine and he lets out one last sigh before he seems to fall asleep. I always feel more comfortable when he was asleep; when he's awake he will try not to touch me as much. Which I appreciate I suppose, he's a gentlemen when he tries to be. But when he is asleep it's easier to get closer to him, to get comfort from his cold skin and be lulled by his easy breathing. I don't have a crush on him if that's the idea you're getting, I just like being near him, he's got good energy. My eyes begin to droop, I'm getting tired myself. I push myself closer to him, keeping aware of his slow steady breathing. I take a peek at the other two inhabitants of the couch and see that Ino is cradled in Gaara's arms as pure usual. Gaara is asleep, he usually sleeps when he has Ino in his arms, another thing he loves about her, his insomnia isn't as bad when she is near. With a final content sigh I let my body fully sink into Sasori's, my eyes closing.

"So you're telling me I have to drive you to IParty to buy a costume I have no say in?" Sasori asks, slipping a few slices of toast onto my plate.

"Pretty much," I say, taking a bite of dry toast, "you'll like it."

"Somehow I'm not sold on this at all," Sasori grumbles and takes a seat next to me.

We were the only two up, Ino and Gaara were sleeping in, they didn't have to work, lucky ducks. Sasori and I didn't start our shift until eleven, which gave us time to hang around the IParty. Although I mostly want to go to get his costume, I have some things for my costume I still need. I finish my toast quickly and call the bathroom before Sasori, who growls and calls me a midget bitch. The bathroom is painted white with sandstone tiling on the floor. The shower is made of an orange mosaic tile; Sasori's grandmother designed it herself apparently. I turn on the shower and step in, smiling as the Luke warm water hits my face. It reminds me of home, I'd always get stuck taking a shower after Nori, and she loved to take long showers. So I would always get stuck with the hot water falling into cold, I'd grown to enjoy it though. Sasori's water was always like this, they couldn't really figure out why but I was ok with it. I threw some of Sasori's shampoo in my hair, because it annoyed him and finished up quickly. The scent of Sasori dancing in my nose, spicy and cinnamon, I pick up my towel off the floor.

I had forgotten to take my clothes in with me in my rush to win the bathroom first; I ring out my hair and prepare to run to Sasori's room. I peek out of the door, my heart racing with adrenaline, I can't believe I'm about to do this. I hold the towel tightly around myself and bolt forward and towards Sasori's room, just when I think I'm in the clear, pow. I slam right into Sasori who is exiting his room with a towel thrown over his naked shoulder wearing nothing but his boxers. The awkwardness of the moment hangs around us. We simply stand there, his hands on my shoulders; he caught me before I could fall forward. I feel a blush cross my cheeks and flush the rest of my body, he flushes lightly as well. Finally we both snap back into our proper mind sets, he rushes to the bathroom and I run towards into his bedroom and lock myself in. My heart is beating rapidly, that was so weird. I take another deep breath, feeling the blush start to leave my skin. I walk over to the drawer I claimed in Sasori's room, I pull out some undergarments and slip them on before grabbing a pair of black leggings, and a bright purple dress with green and black little bats on them. It goes down to my knees and is very flowy, the top ruffled almost like a blouse. I towel dry my hair and draw a braid threw it, deciding that my hair would look nice naturally curly. My heart beat is finally under control and my hands have stopped shaking.

I distract myself by setting out my Halloween costume for the party. I had a dark green corset with black stitches and brass buttons running down the chest. A white shirt with a ruffled front and off the shoulder sleeves is what I'm going to wear underneath it. I have a pair of really tight black pants and a pair of brown heels that look old fashioned. I still need a belt and some fake weapons preferably a sword and gun to wear with it. I had decided to dress as the Princess from Fable 3, and I was liking my decision more and more as my outfit came together. I write down the items I should look for on a post it note and shove it in my purse. I slip on my black wedges and step out of Sasori's bedroom. I make my way to the living room; the shower in the bathroom is still going. God that was an embarrassing situation, I cringe and try once more to remove it from my mind. I hear a rustling from the couch and see Gaara stirring from his slumber; he looks around the room, then down at Ino who is leaning into his body. He lets a smile fall onto his face and he places his head down and seems to fall back to sleep. I smile and am tempted to get my camera and take a picture but decide not to. They really are adorable together; I wonder when I will find someone. I feel a hand touch my shoulder and I turn quietly to see Sasori, dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a red and black plaid shirt. He gestures towards the door and I nod, grabbing my purse we head to the garage. It's a little chilly and I shiver slightly in my dress. I hop into the front seat and soon we are rolling down the street towards IParty. I have Sasori's outfit all planned out in my mind, and I know he will totally go for it. We are going to continue with the zombie theme, except we are going to make him a Zombie Puppet. The joint parts, wood rot and termite spots, the works for a dead puppet. All I really needed for him was a ripped up zombie suit of some kind and it would be easy doing the rest. I start to bounce up and down with excitement when we finally pull into the parking lot. He sighs and watches as I bolt out of his car and begin to skip happily towards the Halloween store. I run inside quickly, not even waiting to see if Sasori is following me.

Sasori's POV

I let out a sigh as I see Mayumi disappear into the front door of the store. I slide my car keys into my pocket and follow, it's the day before Halloween, how crowded could it be? As soon as I stepped into the door I was greeted by a mass group of people shuffling around, trying on costumes, throwing costumes, dancing with boas, there was even a clown girl uni-cycling down the aisles. Apparently an IParty the day before Halloween was like Black Friday. I scan the front of the store trying to spot Mayumi but no such luck. She's so short anyway it would be difficult to spot her. I sigh and begin to search, trying to avoid some of the odd people walking through. I wonder what she is thinking of putting me in. I cringe as I pass a section of pink girlie men costumes, as long as it's not that. After tripping over costumes and scanning down aisles I finally find her looking at a bunch of makeup with her head tilted to the side like a puppy, it's rather adorable. I freeze and smack my head at the thought. I make it to her side to see her reaching for a package of brown, green, and black makeup. She turns to look at me and gives me a smile before grabbing my hand and dragging me to another location the store.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up," She says, pulling us into a costume aisle, "I found the perfect attire for you." She smiles as we stop in front of a section with different torn and tattered clothing.

"The pirate one is out of the question of course but the ripped tuxedo will work best for your outfit." She says, pointing towards a ripped up tux outfit, "It kind of makes me think of a Zombie prom date."

"This would be a lot better if I knew what you were dressing me up as." I sigh, scratching the back of my head, "Hidan's already a zombie, I don't want to take his idea."

"Well you're going to be a very different kind of Zombie let's just say," She chuckles, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "Grab your size, we're getting the tux."

I sigh and flip through a few of the costumes until I find my size. As soon as it's off the rack Mayumi clamps her hand down around my wrist and begins to drag me into another location of the store. This one is filled with different types of fake weapons. I watch as she takes a few different fake guns off the wall, looks them over in the palm of her hand, and mumbles to herself in an adorable fashion. I sigh and tug a bit at my hair, trying to get another thought out of my head. Mayumi lets out another girlish chuckle and I turn just in time to see her running down into another aisle like a kid. I follow behind her as best I can; it's almost like hide and seek, except I'm the only one really playing. I find her once again pulling out a thick looking brown belt that has fake leather qualities to it. She smiles and tries it around her waist, watching as it slides down to an angle on her small hips.

"Why do you love Halloween so much?" I ask, not even aware that the question had slipped through my lips; she turns to me with the brightest smile.

"It was always a family holiday," she answers quietly, "Christmas was never fun because we never had the money for Christmas presents but Halloween was the best time of year. My parent's never wanted us to go out alone Trick or Treating, since the neighborhood was so bad. So we'd all go walking around in our homemade costumes and get four pillowcases full of candy. But that's not all we would do. We'd take the day off of school if we had it and have a breakfast of pumpkin pancakes, then we'd go apple picking, then we'd go to a haunted house and then finally go Trick or Treating, it was just the best. It was the only time that I felt like we were a family." The sad little smile on her lips is enough to make me smile.

"It sounds nice," I whisper, a plan already formulating in my head for the Thirty First of October.

Mayumi's P.O.V.

With my final costume items purchased, and all of the stuff for Sasori's costume we head over to the Tea Shoppe for some pumpkin Coffee's before arriving at work. The whole store for the first time I had ever seen it is crowded with people, buying glue, paints, and all other types of things one may need for a Halloween emergency. Kakashi was nowhere in sight, which Sasori continued to complain about as the lines began to pile up and the customers more impatient. It was around the time where employees should be getting a break when I noticed it. In the corner of the back register area sat a scarecrow, all tucked up in the corner. I have to admit, it creeps me the fuck out. I did my best to ignore the ratty thing and keep the lines moving at my register. When my customer line ended I found myself staring at it. Its straw hat had tears in it with tuffs of straw sticking out. It wore a flannel shirt and a pair of very long ripped up jeans with more straw sticking out. Then in my moments of staring at this object it moved. I froze; ok I did not just see that, it can't be moving, I must be crazy. Then it moves again, it raises its head, revealing a bag like face with blood around its mouth, I can't help it.

"Sasori!" I scream, running over to his register and jumping onto him.

"What, what is it?" he asks, grabbing my waist, I bury my head into his neck.

"The scarecrow in the corner is trying to kill me!" I cry.

"What?" He asks, "Holy shit!"

I look up and see the scarecrow limping towards us with its hand extended. I push my body closer into Sasori's side, god this is horrifying. For one thing the monster is a freak show, but I'm putting my life in Sasori's hands. The beast reaches its hand up to its head, and I'm afraid it's going to rip off its head and reveal its scary monster abilities. Slowly the mask and hat fall back and reveals….silver hair.

"Wow were you really scared? Iruka said it was a stupid costume!" Kakashi jests.

"You bastard!" I scream, "That's not fucking funny!"

"Not to mention the fact that we've been struggling with overcrowded registers!" Sasori chimes in.

"Oh it gave you too some time to bond, and by the looks of it you're still bonding," he said with a raise of his eyebrow.

"What do you mean!" we yell in unison.

"Well you're holding each other."

I felt a light blush coat my cheeks at the realization, Sasori and I were still clinging to each other. We immediately retracted our limbs and just stared. Well this is the second most embarrassing moment of the day, although this morning's towel incident tops this by far. Its awkward, god I hate this and Kakashi the stupid bastard caused this with his fucking scarecrow costume. Some boss he is.

"Fuck this I'm done for the afternoon," I shout, walking into the back room and clocking out.

A few minutes later Sasori walks in and copies me, we collect our items in silence. We step out of the building and simply stand as the door slams loudly behind us. It's slow as if in sync, but we look at each other and it seems we have a joint thought, Sasori voices it.

"Did we just rage quit?" he asks.

"Yes, we did." I answer.

Then we burst out laughing, crazy deep from the gut laughing. I have to grip his shoulder to keep from falling to the ground with how hilarious it is. Even more so when Kakashi walks outside in his full costume and I realize he isn't wearing shoes. He simply stares at us as we laugh about Rage and Kakashi's pale rather hobbit looking feet.

"If you two are done," he sighs, "I really need you to finish your shift, I'll pay you double for the last hour just please, come back in."

"Fine," I say, "Throw in a bag of whoppers and you got a deal."

"Whoppers?" Sasori asks in a surprised tone.

"Disgusting," Kakashi mumbles.

"Hey don't be dissing Whoppers or we will be leaving!"

"I actually like Whoppers," Sasori says, "Weird."

"Fine I'll buy you guys whoppers just come finish your shift, I can't handle all of the customers on one register!"

With the promise of whoppers and double our salary for the last hour we both agree to come work the last hour. During which Sasori and I discovered we like a lot of the same candies, strange.


	12. This is Halloween

Sasori's POV

Of course she likes sweets she's a girl. It's not like it's a big deal for a girl to like sweets, or even more so Whoppers. I mean I thought all people hated whoppers, Deidara hates them for sure, Konan hates them too, even Itachi the sugar loving king does not like the taste of whoppers, yet she does. Why am I over thinking this, is it a crime for someone besides me, in particular someone like her to enjoy a candy that most of the population hates. It totally fits her; don't follow the crowd personality anyway. I feel cold goo being applied to my face and my eyes focus on her. She's already dressed for the party, her corset showing off the curves of her body, her hair curly and almost wild. A thin layer of makeup is on her face, and a sword and pistol is dangling from a belt around her thin waist. She's so close; I can see the green swirls in her eyes, there a lot larger, almost breathtaking. I blink and look away from her, what are you thinking Sasori, get yourself together.

"Hey look back at me," Mayumi whines, her lower lip jutting out in a pout, "I want this to be symmetrical."

"Why don't you just let me do it in the mirror?" I ask.

"Because it's a surprise, you will totally get your costume once I finish with your makeup; now tilt your head up." I do as she says, and feel her begin to make a triangle sort of shape on my forehead.

We fall into silence, with her making gentle shapes and smudges onto my face. In the background Ino and Gaara are watching the process, dressed in there Princess and Knight Costumes, their knees touching. Soon, it's going to happen for them soon. I am almost tempted to start a betting pool, Kakuzu would love that idea. I feel something rough being applied to the shapes on my face. I try to look and see what she is grabbing but she blocks it from my view. Time ticks on and finally after what seems like an eternity she moves away and throws her hands above her head.

"It is completed," She smirks and turns towards Gaara and Ino, "Am I a genius or what?"

"Mayumi you are so awesome, I never knew you were a makeup artist!" Ino gushes.

"It's one of my many talents," she turns back to me and smiles, "Well go check it out Scorpling."

I hold back an insult and stand nervously and walk over to the bathroom mirror. She could have done something super messed up to my face, or worse, she could have made me look like a girl. I take a deep breath and look in the mirror. Holy shit, she really is a makeup artist. My face is the definition of pale. On it, the shapes I kept feeling are pieces of rotting wood with termites on some of the places. Black lines are drawn on my face from the corners of my mouth down to my chin; she made me a zombie puppet. This girl…

"So what do you think?" Mayumi asks, walking up behind me and placing her chin on top of my shoulder, she is tall enough in those heels to do so.

"It's great; no one at the party will have the same costume as me." I say.

"My thoughts exactly." She smiles lightly, then turns and leaves the bathroom, "Let's get out of here puppet boy, the party a waits."

I look at myself once more before I turn off the bathroom lights.

Mayumi's P.O.V.

Party! God I can't wait, I'm bouncing in my seat, which I can tell is annoying Sasori as he drives past rows of cars parked along the sidewalk leading up to Kiba's House. Apparently this is going to be some party. Out front of the house in a parking space I can see Naruto and Deidara. Deidara is dressed in the tightest pair of leather pants I have ever seen on a male. His belt buckle is a gun and his top a mesh tank top. His hair is done in its usual style and a hefty amount of eyeliner makes his baby blues pop. Naruto looks absolutely adorable, I can hardly wait to jump out of the car and trap him in a hug. He's wearing a leather vest; scratch that, a super tight, super hot, leather vest, a pair of jean skinny jeans, and on his head a pair of orange ears. He's got the cutest blush on his face; Deidara does bring out the sexier side of him. The two move out of the way and give us the parking spot; as soon as the car stops I am out of the car and attack Naruto.

"You are so fucking cute!" I scream.

"If you think I'm cute you should see Haku," Naruto chuckles, returning my hug.

"Oh this is going to be so fun! Let's go, let's go!" I chant, urging the other to come into the house with me.

Naruto takes the lead and we walk up the front steps into the house which is filled with people. The whole house is lit up with orange and purple lights, a strobe is flashing in the corner of the living room to the right of the front door. The room to the left is the kitchen where three large kegs and other alcoholic beverages are set up, people already partaking of that. Another cool thing, everyone was in costume, not a single person was without one. A boy with shaggy brown hair dressed in a purple and red fancy bathroom and slippers comes in, he smirks at us a red cup in his hand.

"Hello and welcome to my humble home, I hope you found a good parking spot." He smirks and reaches for my hand, "Especially you, my you are a minx." He then places a kiss on the top of my hand.

"Yeah and who are you supposed to be," I growl out, ripping my hand out of his grip, "Unemployed?"

"Hugh Hefner actually, and my name is Kiba, this is my house." He answers.

"Oh so you're Kiba," I reply, "I pictured you differently."

"Oh and how did you picture me?"

"Cuter," I answer, before walking by them and into the kitchen area.

I hear him yelling at me over my shoulder but I ignore him, he really is not what I expected. I was picturing some hot jock superstar and what I get is a disheveled boy in a bathrobe that smells like dog. Upon entering the kitchen I immediately begin to scan for my other friends and the first person I spot is Itachi. He looks, well completely not like himself. He's dressed in a black and red corset and a pair of tight black skinny jeans with rips and tears in them. His hair is down and hanging in a wavy style down over his shoulders. On his head is a witch's hat and on his back is a pair of black angel wings. Next to him is Kisame, dressed in all blue with a shark fin on his back and fins on his arms. That's when I notice my Haku, and in a flash I am across the room engulfing him in a hug. He's dressed in a turquoise kimono with a cream colored border and cream and black striped obi. His hair is up in an intricate bun with his bangs falling down into his face.

"Mayumi you're choking me!" he laughs, patting my back.

"I can't help it, you're so freaking cute I can't stand it." I gush, letting him go.

It's now that I notice Zabuza standing over him dressed up as a soldier, complete with combat boots and face paint. He smiles at me and pulls Haku close to his side.

"Nice costume," he says, "I should have gotten a gun for mine."

"You Jealous of my baby?" I ask, pulling my fake gun out of my holster.

"So vain, you could give Reaver a-" I cut Sasori off before he can finish.

"I am nothing like Reaver, the only quality we share is that we have a deep care for our firearms."

"Whatever you say," He sighs, rolling his eyes.

I turn my gaze over to the rest of my group of friends. Hidan is dressed well, actually he isn't dressed, he's shirtless and in a pair of jeans so ripped and torn I would hardly call them clothing. His chest is covered in blood as is his face, his white hair streaked with it. He smirks at my gaze before taking a sip from his red plastic cup. Kakuzu stands next to him, without his hood on I can see the caramel of his skin and the scars upon his face, real scars. He isn't dressed in a costume but I'm sure this is his way of pretending he is, by showing his true face; I decide not to comment on it and look over at Tobi. Oh Tobi, I wish I could understand what goes on in that strange little brain of his. Tobi is covered in glitter, just everything about him, every inch of his clothing and hair is covered in rainbow glitter. I open my mouth to say something, but find there is nothing I can possibly say. I look up at Zetsu; he's dressed as a sunflower. Again there is nothing to say about this and I turn my gaze towards Pein in his black cape overly ruffled white shirt with a high collar with blood drippy from his fanged mouth. His hair looks even brighter, almost red in comparison to the black clothing he is in. Konan is standing beside him a velvet black dress that goes down to cover her knees and a black and white domino mask.

"Konan what happened to your maid costume?" I ask, wondering about the outfit change.

"Pein saw me in it and let's just say I need to take it to the dry cleaners." Konan groans, placing her hands on her hips.

"I already said I was sorry," he sighs, flashing her a pair of puppy dog eyes.

"Oh and you already know I said no sex for a month." She says back in a cutesy tone.

"Where's the beer at?" I shout, "I totally need this!"

"I'll get you a cup shortie," Hidan says.

"Thanks, and don't call me shortie." I reply back as cheerfully as I can muster.

"Danna your costume is so cool, un!" Deidara cheers.

I smile as Sasori begins to get compliments from everyone in the room on his zombie puppet attire. He nods and accepts them politely. When finally someone asks him about the idea light blush coats his cheeks. Why is he blushing?

"Mayumi came up with the idea actually."

"Really?" Kakuzu asks.

"Gosh you are just amazing," Naruto gushes.

"I would never be able to come up with something like this." Haku says.

"Well thanks."

"Here's your beer shortie," Hidan shouts, handing me a red cup filled with amber liquid.

"One more time you call me shortie I'm going to have to make you pay," I say in a sing song voice.

"I'd like to see you try." Hidan smirks, "Shortie."

I punch him in the face, careful not to spill my beer on myself. He falls backwards into Kakuzu's arms, unconscious. Well that went well, I think to myself, taking a sip at the cold bitter beverage. Everyone looks at me with a look of amusement, amazement, and admiration. I look around the group and notice that Ino and Gaara had decided to slip away and were now dancing rather closely together in the crowd.

"Not that this wasn't fun but can we go dance or DDR or something?" I whine, wanting to have fun.

"Let's play DDR," Naruto cheers, grabbing onto my arm, "Let's go let's go!"

"Alright," I laugh, letting the young blonde drag me down a long hallway and down stairs into a large well furnished basement. Down here is a large DDR Machine, an air hockey table, a few ski ball tables, and a flat screen TV.

"Wow this place is fancy," Haku gushes, "Kiba must be loaded."

"I didn't know Veterinarians got paid so much," Kakuzu mumbles, throwing Hidan down onto a couch. "Maybe I should make a career change."

"Where the fuck am I?" Hidan cries out, sitting up, "Where are my Jashin damned underwear?"

"You left them at my house," Kakuzu groans, leaning up against the air hockey table, "You said it would make for, and I quote, easy access."

"Ew who would want to sleep with him," I mumble under my breath.

"Kakuzu has a crush on Hidan, un." Deidara whispers into my ear.

"Oh I should have known."

"I want my undies!" Hidan cries.

"Stop whining," Konan sighs, walking over to me, "Let's go first."

We start up the DDR machine and pick an easy song first, I start on Difficult to warm up and Konan starts on Intermediate. The song starts up and we begin to move our feet sporadically over the colored squares. Even though my steps are more difficult I am winning against Konan. When the song ends I get double A's and she gets a B. She steps off the platform and I chug down the rest of the liquor in my red cup.

"Someone get me another beer," I shout over my shoulder, "who wants to challenge me next?"

"Me!" Naruto shouts, hopping up, "You are going down I am so pro at this."

"We'll see cutie."

We pick a new song, a faster song, and Naruto bumps up the level to be at difficult with me. I smirk and give him a wink before we start our song. The music blares and our feet move almost in synch but in the end when the scores flash across the screen I am victor to Naruto. Haku smiles and hands me a new cup of alcohol and I quickly drink half of it. I didn't want to get black out drunk tonight, but I definitely wanted a buzz and I would need at least two more cups before that would happen.

"Come on who's next?" I ask, having way too much fun in the situation I'm in.

"I'll win this one for you, un." Deidara smirks, winking at Naruto who quickly blushes.

"I'd love to see you try." I cheer.

"I will wipe the floor with you, un!"

He stays on the same level as Naruto and we pick a nice fast song to dance to. I fall into a steady rhythm with the song; I always get like this when I play. I start to zone out and only focus on moving my feet and usually that leads to me winning. And in this case it does not fail me either. I beat Deidara by a large margin and he groans.

"I'm sorry I didn't win for you, un." Deidara pouts.

"It's fine you did your best," Naruto smiles.

God those two are so adorable, I can hardly stand it. In my gushing over the young couple and finishing off my second cup of beer a new opponent comes to stand by me. I turn and see Itachi looking quietly at me. I smirk and gesture for him to choose the song. Instead he bumps his level of Difficulty up to Expert. Oh cocky are we, I bump up to expert as well, challenge accepted. He picks the fastest song on the machine. And I smirk as the arrows begin to fly like there is no tomorrow. It's harder I have to move my feet quicker and getting into my mindset only does so much when the arrows are going faster than a freight train. The song comes to an end, both of us panting lightly frozen in our last dance positions. The scores fly up onto the screen we are both tied, both Double A's. I look over at him and he looks over at me. Finally a smile breaks onto my face and I begin to laugh. He smiles lightly and chuckles a little himself.

"Your awesome," I admit, "lots of practice?"

"Tobi loves this game," Itachi says, "he's the only one who can beat me."

"No way, Tobi?" I ask looking over at the teen who is reaching for a red cup in Zetsu's hand.

"He is very focused, it's the only thing that can actually keep him quiet, besides milk of course."

"Oh Tobi's turn, can tobi play?" Tobi asks, hoping over to the stage, "Can Tobi go against Itachi?"

"Sure Tobi, take my spot," I say, letting the boy hop up onto the platform.

Let me tell you, that boy can dance. Glitter was flying from his body everywhere; I think I have glitter in my eye. By the time the song was over Tobi had a score of Triple A's and Itachi only had doubles. The boy cheered and jumped from the platform spinning around like a top.

"I beat Itachi again!" Tobi shouts, "Now Tobi can have a cookie when he gets home right?"

"Sure Tobi," Itachi says with a soft smile, "I need a drink."

"I second that motion," I shout, "Time to dance and drink merrily!"

The evening continued as such, with our group switching between drinking in the kitchen, to dancing in the living room to rocking it out to DDR in the Basement. I had downed five beers and two shots by the end of the night and I was beginning to slur my speech. Sasori who I had not seemed to see at all during the night was by my side suddenly when it was finally time to go home, his arm around my waist and my own arm thrown around his neck.

"Hey there Handsome, where have you been?" I ask, as we make our way to his car.

"Plotting and Planning, did you have a nice night?" he says, opening the passenger side door for me.

"No." I pout, feeling rather light and childish, my vision is spotty.

"And why is that?" he chuckles.

"Because you weren't with me having fun, you big…Pinocchio," I laugh.

"It will be worth it tomorrow."

"Yo-your nose is growing." I laugh even more, hitting my head against the window of my door.

"Why don't you go to sleep, Gaara and Ino will be here soon."

"F-fine, but your still a…butthead." I fall back into my seat and find myself lost in darkness.

My head hurts, the sun pierces through my eyelids and I groan, pulling the sheets over my head. Fucking hangover, god damn sun, stupid thin sheets, I whine and open my eyes, blink away the dizziness. I'm in Sasori's room, dressed in only my poofy white shirt from yesterday, no corset, no shoes, no pants. Bastard better not have seen my panties I think to myself before standing up and looking around for a pair of pants. I find a pair of sweatpants in one of Sasori's drawers and pull them on, there a lot bigger on me than I expected but I don't care. I slip out of his room and freeze as a familiar smell hits my nose, Pumpkin Pancakes? I walk quietly into the kitchen and see Ino and Gaara happily munching on a plate of slightly orange pancakes. Sasori is flipping one at the stove, he turns and sees me. Smiling he slides one onto a plate with two others and gives me a smile.

"Morning, there is some advil in the bathroom if you need that." He says, pouring some batter onto the skillet.

"What is this?" I ask, looking at him quietly.

"It's Halloween breakfast, now hurry up and eat we'll go to the orchard after." Sasori says.

"Oh I should look up an apple cookie recipe," Ino shouts, standing up and putting her plate in the sink.

"Apple Cookies?" Gaara asks following behind her, "They exist."

"Sure lets go look up some recipes on google."

The two step out of the room and I look back at Sasori, still in complete shock. He…he duplicated my families Halloween tradition. For me? Why would he do something like that? He looks up from the stove and sees me still standing.

"Hey your foods going to get cold," he says, walking over to me, "Are you ok?"

I lurch forward and wrap my arms around his neck, burying my face into his collarbone. He slowly places his arms around my back.

"Thank you," I whisper.

"It's no problem, now let's eat alright?"

"Ok."

It tasted just like how Father used to make it. Not too overpowering with the pumpkin just the right amount of flavor that it made ones pallet tingle. I ate slowly, although everyone ushered for me to hurry up so we could go apple picking. After change into a pair of black jeans and a long green v-neck sweater we left the house for the Konoha Apple Orchard. The place was run by the Nara family; it also was a Deer sanctuary. It had a nice feel and tons of fresh apples. We bought two large bags, one of Macintosh and one of Cortland's. As soon as we were back in the car I grabbed an apple and began to clean it on the sleeve of my sweater.

"You still have room in your stomach?" Ino chuckles.

"The apples always taste best after just being picked," I answer, taking a large bite.

The crunch sends a shiver down my spine. The taste of the Cortland isn't overly bitter and I continue to munch on it as we drive down the road. The others are soon following my lead and we are munching on apples until we get home.

"I found this great Apple cookie bar recipe online," Ino gushes, "It sounds so good I just need to run down to the corner store to get some caramel."

"Sure do you need any money?" I ask.

"No I'm good; I'll be back in a bit."

"I'll go with you." Gaara says.

"Is there anything you need us to do while you're gone?" Sasori asks as the two open the door.

"Peel about ten apples and dice them up?" Ino asks.

"Sure no problem," Sasori answers.

The kitchen is quiet as I peel away the flesh of the apples, making it into a long curvy piece of red skin. Sasori chuckles as I do it, dicing up the apples I have already peeled into tiny chunks before dropping them into a large bowl. Even though it's nice, even though I love what is happening I have to know.

"Why did you do this for me?" I ask, stopping in my peeling.

"Because if I didn't do it no one else would." He answers, laying his knife down.

"You don't even like me that much." I whisper.

"I like you enough."

I blush, "So can I predict that there will be Trick or Treating on the horizon?"

"If you're not too old to go,"

"My ass, I'll never stop trick-or-treating, not until I turn thirty at least."

"Wow and you'll probably be the same height as you are now."

"Do you want to keep your face where it is?"

The jokes go back and forth and soon we are just sitting on the counter throwing tiny pieces of diced apple back and forth that didn't make it into the bowl. The front door slams open and the laughter of Ino and Gaara fills the house.

"Stop making out and come make some cookies!" I shout, Sasori snickers as the two come in with bright red blushes on their cheeks.

"Well isn't that Suspicious," Sasori grins.

We laugh and they join. Soon the kitchen smells of apples and caramel and we are all preparing to venture out into the night to hunt for Candy. I have Sasori's pillow case tucked under my arm and he has a plastic bag in his hands. Ino and Gaara are by the door dressed in there outfits from last night, nervous about going out.

"Come on I must get all of the whoppers!" I shout.

To be honest, no one has ever done something so nice for me before. Not my mother or father, not my friends, not even my sister. Yet here they were, these people I had only known for three months, taking my feels into consideration, making sure I had the best Halloween ever. And at the forefront of this master scheme, someone I had not expected at all. He smiles at me, his makeup for his costume done a lot more subtly than yesterday. His hair mussed in an awkward way and a tiny splay of fake blood dripping down his chin. I smile back at him and turn just as the door to the house in front of us opens.

"Trick or Treat!"


	13. I'm really worried

A week after Halloween

"I'm getting worried." I whine, looking out through the chain link fence.

"I know," Pein sighs, running his hands through his hair, "we all are."

"This shit has got my antsy. I wasn't antsy before but now I am," I groan, and turn towards Pein, "Shit is gonna go down."

Pein sits up from his makeshift leather jacket pillow and runs a hand through his hair; it's his nervous habit I've come to notice. He does it once more then straightens out the sleeves of his black and red flannel shirt and stands up, beginning to pace.

"What could they be up to?" he asks, "This would be so much easier if we knew where they were located."

"Located?" I ask, I sit down on the edge of the building, looking down at my zigzag patterned pantyhose.

"Yes there base of operation, where they meet, make plans."

I play with a hole on my black jean skirt; my mind is trying to remember something, but what? I shuffle through my memory bank, trying to pull forth the thought. Location…location… location. I stand up quickly and begin waving my arms.

"Me, oh god pick me!" I shout, waving my arms like a maniac.

"What what is it?" He asks, coming towards me.

"I remembered that on the way to Sasori's house when we were looking for Ino we were walking down the street and it was the bad like seedy bad side of town and on the side of the building I noticed it and he noticed it and it was this old abandoned building with a music note over the door and we both like had this connection where we knew this was bad but we forgot to tell you so it's even worse and I'm sorry I need air," I gasp and fall back onto my butt.

"I can't believe you got that out in one breath," Pein gasps.

"Me neither," I huff, trying to get the air back in my lungs.

"But you saw a building with their symbol on it, are you sure?"

"Yes one hundred percent, Sasori would probably remember the location better than me though."

"Do you know what these means?" He asks, looking suddenly excited, "If we know there location we can-"

"Sabotage plans, infiltrate the organization, steal blueprints, make a call to the cops that it's a drug house, the options are limitless." I answer.

"We need to check it out, are you and Sasori working today?"

"We are free, but we should bring some muscle too, like Kakuzu, Zabuza, or Kisame."

"Yes that would be good, we'll tell Sasori at lunch deal?"

"Deal," The bell rings and I sigh heavily, "Well I have Algebra two, see you at lunch."

"Be careful."He calls after me as I begin to descend down the stairs, my coffin purse in hand.

It was starting to get chilly around here, a strange transition for me since back home in Kusogakure it never got to cold, only windy. I had found myself a nice peacoat jacket in a shade of dark purple. I had been wearing it up on the roof but now that I was inside and warmer I took it off and locked it away in my locker. I adjust my purple long sleeved shirt over my dark red tank top and begin to head to class. With Halloween over and all distractions of fun gone it left the entire group with nothing to do but worry. Well mostly Pein and myself, but that was beside the point. The point is we need to take action before the Oto take action against us.

Ino was sitting in the back of the room at the desk next to Kisame and Itachi. After the whole Sakura incident we felt it safer for Ino to be in a position closer to other members, who Sakura was terrified of. I smile and plop down next to Ino who is dressed in a lovely black sequined top with a purple plaid skirt and gray leggings. Her hair is up as it usually is and her eyes are on the paper in front of her, she is drawing her and Gaara's initials in hearts. I give Kisame a large smile, and he in turn gives me his usual toothy grin. He's dressed in a long sleeved black shirt with a navy blue shirt underneath. His jeans are holy and the Akatsuki patch is on his knee. Itachi gives me a quiet look before turning to look back out of the window. He is dressed in his usual all black. Tight black skinny jeans, black tees shirt, black sweatshirt over that. A small splash of red is on the inside of his hood where his red cloud is displayed. I had come to realize by watching my two new friends that Kisame was deeply in love with Itachi. It was almost cute how much he cared for the Uchiha. In turn I noticed that Itachi also seemed to have feelings for his unnaturally blue friend. It was subtle you could barely notice it unless you were really looking for it. But at the right angle when Itachi looks at Kisame I can see the adoration in his eyes.

"Hey cutie pies how is life going for you?" I ask.

"Pretty good, if you notice Suckura is sitting as far away from us as possible." Ino cheers.

"It would be better if I didn't have a detention but other than that I'm good." Kisame sighs, scratching his head.

"Hn." Itachi grunts, his normal reply.

I frown, looks like Kisame won't be coming with us, maybe Kakuzu will be free. Zetsu although a nice guy when is darker personality doesn't come into play is always with Tobi. When you see Tobi you see Zetsu and vice versa. I had asked Itachi about this once and he just said, "Hn." Which in Itachi means, who knows maybe there secretly dating, Kisame had translated for me. In my head two words crossed my mind, adorable, then creepy. Asuma starts teaching us a lesson that I pay absolutely no attention too. Class passes by quicky and the lunch bell can't come soon enough. Finally, I make my way to our normal table and sit by myself while everyone else gets lunch. I had packed my own lunch, not wanting to eat the Fish squares the school was serving. I look up from my pudding cup and freeze. Standing before me is a rather skinny girl with bright red hair. A black and white bandana is on top of her head. She has dull brown eyes, not pretty like Sasori's. She is dressed in a light brown potato sack like dress with a dark purple bow around her waist and an ugly set of clunky black heels. She'd be pretty if it wasn't for that horrendous outfit.

"Sup bitch," the girl says with a smirk, shit this is Tayuya, she's with the Oto.

"Oh Tayuya hi, do you need help with Biology homework?" I ask, recalling having her sit in the front of the classroom with Kabuto.

"I'm a straight A student bitch. Now I don't fucking like you, I think you are a skanky ass hoe looking to fuck your way through all of the members of Akatsuki." She leans forward onto the table, and I stand up, leaning forward myself, "I'm here to make you a fucking deal on behalf of my leader. Join the Oto, or get the fuck out of town, because we will come for you, and we will kill you."

"Why don't you stop leaning so close I'm not a lesbian," I say with a smirk, noticing the blush the flushes her cheeks, "I don't eat pink taco and I'm not aiming to give it a try so I suggest you walk your ugly trailer trash ass back to your fucking table and next time you try to hit on me, at least remember to clean the hair out of your teeth."

She squeals at the comment and stomps away, what an ugly girl. Konan and Pein rush over, carrying bag lunches, they have bruised lips. Well looks like our leader was getting a little something. They both rush to my side with worried looks on their faces.

"Oh my gosh are you ok?" They both shout out at the same time.

"Sure, are you ok Konan you look a little red around the lips, too much sugar?" I tease as a blush coats both of their cheeks.

"Um I'm fine," Konan whispers, "No you, are you ok, Tayuya was just over here and-"

"Calm down, I took care of her, lesbian jokes set her off. She must still be in the closet, too bad." I say with a smirk, sitting back down in my seat.

"As long as you're ok, what did she want?" Pein asks, sitting down across from me.

"She had an offer for me, join the Oto or move out of town or she'll kill me blah blah blah."

"What is this for real?" Pein asks, looking shocked.

"It's fine I can handle myself Papa Bear, now anyone want to trade, I got a bologna sandwich I really regret bringing."

"Mayumi this is serious-" Pein starts.

"I know, I hate bologna but really what do you have to trade, roast beef? I'll take PB and J I just can't eat Bologna."

"Mayumi," Pein hisses harshly, I sigh.

"Mayumi we only want you to be safe, we know what the Oto can do, you still have the marks on your back don't you." Konan asks, I frown, I had long pink scars all up my back from that damn car accident, "So she threatened your life?"

"Yes but I'm not too concerned about it. I'm barely at home anyway and the same goes for my parents. So I think we are pretty much safe wouldn't you agree?" the couple exchanges a worried look.

"We worry about you the most you know." Konan sighs, taking my sandwich and handing me a wrap, "Veggie with hummus."

"We just want you to be safe, they have already tried to hurt you once, we don't want them to do it again." Pein agrees, taking my hand from across the table, "A gang is a family and we just want you to be safe."

"I'll be fine; please don't worry so much," I insist, "Besides I've got all of you guys watching my back, and my front too."

The rest of the Akatsuki filters towards our lunch table. Sasori sits down beside me with a container of salad; he's not a huge fan of fish squares. Ino sits on my other side with Gaara and the rest sift in from there. We eat lunch quietly, I find myself stealing glances at the Oto's table. There all talking quietly amongst themselves, Tayuya looks a bit red in the cheeks still, she must really like me. Finally Pein gestures everyone to lean in.

"Mayumi mentioned to me earlier that we might have a location for the Oto." Some gasp at his words others just lean in closer, "After school today Sasori, Mayumi, and I are going to check it out but I need a bit of muscle, any volunteers?"

"I'm stuck in detention," Kisame sighs, "I really want to go now too."

"I'll go," Kakuzu says, "I've got nothing better to do anyway."

"Alright we'll meet by Sasori's car after school sound good?"

Everyone nods and the bell rings loudly. I walk to my art class, stopping by my locker to collect all of my stuff so I'm ready afterschool. Anko is standing at the front of the art room when I walk in, a large envelope in her hands and a smirk on her face. She is dressed in a tight purple dress with gray fishnet leggings and sleeves underneath and her normal paint covered trench coat. I put my stuff down and take my seat next to Gaara, giving him a questioning look. He merely shrugs his shoulders and we both face forward to look at the abnormally happy Anko.

"Well maggots the results of that art contest have come in and surprisingly we didn't get banned from it. Two individuals will have their artwork sent to the higher level national awards next month." Anko announces, "We'll also need two more submissions from the artists in a different style."

"Oh my gosh I won didn't I, un!" Deidara cheers, "Please tell me I fucking won, un."

"No you are banned from entering this contest ever again because apparently it blew up in one of the judges faces and stained his 2000 dollar Armani suit. Not everyone appreciates that Dei." Anko shouts, throwing a water balloon, which is filled with blue paint at Deidara, hitting him the face and splattering paint everywhere, this was Anko's usual form of punishment for Deidara at least.

"No not my hair, un!" Deidara shrieks, rushing towards the sinks.

"Now the two winners are actually Natsuyo Mayumi and Akasuna Sasori." Anko cheers, looking between the two of us.

I feel a blush rise up on my cheeks, no way my picture actually won? I had never been very good at charcoal sketches but apparently the judges thought I was. I feel a smile spread across my face as Anko begins to hand back our artwork with reviews attached. I take my picture back, smiling at all the faces staring back at me. The art review is simple, very good sketching and line work, lots of detail, would love to see your next piece in color. I grin even wider; I am in the running to win an art competition. I walk to the back of the room where everyone is exchanging reviews and chatting. I go to look at Sasori's artwork and see he had made a wood carving. On the piece of wood was a small boy, standing alone in a field, or maybe a long stretch of sandy paths. He looks forlorn, stretching out for a hand maybe. It's a beautiful piece and the texture is perfection. I have to stop myself from running my fingers over the sad boys face.

"You drew us," Sasori whispers, surprising me.

"I did," I answer, "your piece is wonderful."

"Any idea what you're going to do for your second piece?" He asks, sitting back down in his chair.

"I think I'll try and go for a water color, and you?"

"I might try doing a puppet; the 3D effect might get me some style points."

"I'd suggest using clay, just to work with a different element from the first piece you sent in."

"Not really my style," he says, "But thanks for the suggestion."

"I aim to please," I sing, turning and heading back towards my desk.

"Hey," Gaara says as I sit down beside him, "Afterschool today be careful alright."

"I'll be fine, don't worry Panda face." I smile poking at his cheek, he sighs lightly.

"I can't get the blue out of my hair, un!" Deidara cries from the back of the room.

"I'll throw one with black paint if you don't shut up!" Anko shouts, walking back over to her desk.

"Itachi help, un!" Dei cries helplessly, I am utterly surprised to see the Uchiha sigh and stand to help the blonde.

"Itachi cares?" I ask Gaara quietly.

"He understands the pains of being a male with long hair; it's a lot of upkeep." Gaara explains, "Something like this happened once and Tobi got mustard in both their hairs so both of them ended up scrubbing each other's hair until the mustard was gone, I think Hidan got it on video."

"Fascinating, truly fascinating."

The period passes quickly. I stand and collect my stuff before heading out to Sasori's car. We were going to see the Oto's lair. I cling to the straps on my bag, shaking slightly. I'm psyching myself out; I've never done this before. Then again I never had another gang try to kill me before. I pass through the schools doors and take a deep breath of the autumn air; everything was going to be fine. I feel a hand being placed on my shoulder, I stiffen automatically.

"Relax," Sasori whispers, turning my body to face him, "Nothing is going to hurt you ok, not with us around."

"I guess I'm just nervous because I know what their capable of." I groan, "Still got the scars."

"I know," he sighs, "come on let's just take a look and go home."

"Right."

We walk towards Sasori's car slowly, my fingers are twitching uncontrollably. Leaning against the passenger door is Kakuzu, Pein is at his side. Pein straitens up at the sight of me, I must look super nervous. We stop a few feet before them. Sasori looks around, then goes to check the inside of his car.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to." Pein says, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"No I have to do this." I insist, I wanted to stop them before they attempted to kill somebody else.

"The car's all set." Sasori sighs, shutting the hood, "we ready to head out?"

"Yes," Pein answers, "I suppose you call shotgun?"

"Of course, I have my name written on it with glitter." I joke, hoping into the passenger seat.

Pein and Kakuzu climb in and Sasori pulls out of the school. I'm bouncing in my seat which is clearly annoying Sasori as well as Pein. Kakuzu looks nonchalant and simply stares out the window with a bored expression on his face. The roads around us begin to take on that bad side of town feel and before I know it we are slowly driving past the fire escape with the Oto's symbol on it. We drive a few more feet before Sasori pulls into an alley hidden from view. He shuts off the car engine and we all climb out silently. I'm bouncing back and forth the others are walking silently towards the building. I suck my bottom lip into my mouth and bite, I need to calm down. We come to the alley and stop. Pein quietly walks to the door and pulls at it, its locked.

"Guess we aren't getting in." Pein sighs.

"Hold on." I whisper, I look up at the fire escape, then look over at Kakuzu.

If I could get a hold of the ladder I could pull it down and we would all climb up and sneak in through the windows. I turn to look at the boys who are waiting for me to speak.

"Kakuzu could you give me a lift?" I ask, "and don't look up my skirt."

"Not interested in what you're packing," he replies back.

He walks behind me and slips between my legs and lifts up. I hold on tightly to his head, my legs hanging down his shoulders, how awkward. He takes a few steps forward and I reach up and wrap my hands around the first rung of the ladder. Kakuzu places his hands on my knees and pushes me up, succeeding and getting my hands on the second rung of the ladder. It shakes under my weight then with a low squeak slides down. I look down to see that my hip is now level with Pein's head. I give him a smile.

"Well climb on up." He says.

"When you stop trying to catch a peak at my panties." I retort, sticking my tongue out at him.

He sighs and turns around and I continue to climb up the ladder and onto the platform. Kakuzu climbs up next to me followed by Pein. Sasori climbs up last, swinging up to stand beside me. Pein is peaking through the windows and tries to slide them open. They squeak slightly but he manages to open it enough to slide through.

"Kakuzu stay out here and keep watch alright?" Pein says.

"No problem." Kakuzu answers, moving to look out into the street.

"I suppose you are coming in as well?" Pein questions.

"You can't keep me out Pein, let's do this."

I climb in through the window next to Pein and let my eyes adjust to the dark environment. I take a few steps on the platform and let my hands wrap around the guard rail of the landing we are on. It's like a factory in here. The fire escape has led us onto a landing that wraps around the entire perimeter of the floor. Underneath us is a room lit by a few hanging florescent lights. Underneath them is a long metal table surrounded by chairs. Against the wall to straight across from us is a large white board with red writing on it. I can barely make out what it says from here but I can read one name, Akatsuki. I look around for a stair case leading down and spot one a few feet away. I carefully walk towards it, hoping not to step on any traps or anything on my way to the stairs. Thankfully nothing gets in my way and I am able to descend down the stairs carefully. The room is a lot bigger from the ground. Crates labeled with things that make me cringe surround the walls. Guns, drugs, these guys are the real deal. I walk carefully towards the white board and look at the notes they have written:

Take down the Akatsuki ideas…

• Kill Leader

• Kill new bitch

• Plant drugs in lockers then give tip to police

• Burn some bitches houses down

• Kidnap girly men/ prostitution ring

• Rape new bitch

I let out a shaky breath and cover my mouth with my hand to keep from crying out. Yeah if they were planning this shit they were serious. I take a step back and almost scream when I bump into someone. I whip around and see its just Sasori, who looks about as freaked out as I am.

"Yeah I'm ready to go home now." I whisper, wrapping my arms around myself, "These fuckers are scary."

"Fuck." Pein mumbles, "we are up against some serious shit."

"No tell me something I don't fucking know." I hiss.

Sasori places a hand on my shoulder and gives me a look. It's one of those, calm down you freaking spazz you're going to make it worse, looks. I sigh and nod and his hand falls from my shoulder. Pein pulls out his cell phone and snaps a few photos of the white board, then the rest of the building. Then he gestures for us to leave. We walk attentively back to the stairs and back out of the building. Then Kakuzu, Pein, and Sasori climb down the ladder first and then I follow. When I get to the bottom I hang there for a minute then look down. I am a higher than I would like to be.

"Could someone help me down?" I ask, my arms are starting to hurt.

"I'll catch you just drop." I hear Sasori say.

I take a deep breath then let go of the bar as Sasori catches my around my waist and gently lowers me to the ground. I sigh with relief and give him a small smile before stepping out of his arms.

"By the way nice panties," Sasori snickers, "rainbows."

"Perverted bastard," I growl, punching him in the stomach.

He lets out a raspy chuckle as we head back down towards his car. Pein is chatting on his cell phone now a look of anger on his face. Kakuzu is watching, looking slightly confused but otherwise stoic as he usually is. When we get back to the car Pein is still on the phone as he climbs into the back seat. Sasori shrugs and we all hop back into the car and Sasori begins to drive. Pein is not making any sense but I decide to ignore him and turn to Sasori.

"Hey pervert lets go to the tea shop, I need something to calm my nerves." I say.

"I'm not a pervert. You just happened to need help getting down from the ladder and I just happened to see your panties while you fell." He says with a chuckle, "it was a complete accident."

"Yeah right, but really if you wanted to see them all you had to do was ask." I say seductively leaning closer to him, "I mean we sleep together enough it's about time I gave you the pleasure."

"Oh really," he chuckles, "well I'd say you owe me with all the gas I pay carting your ass around."

"Ok now you're being mean to me." I whine, "would you rather me walk around and possibly get abducted by strangers and-" I stop midsentence and decide not to finish.

The truth is if that were the case then things on Oto's white board might have already happened. Sasori must get the vibe of what I'm thinking and places his hand on top of mine. I take a deep breath and meet his gaze. He nods at me and then turns his attention back to the road. We arrive at the Tea Shoppe and go inside. Pein stays in the car while Sasori, Kakuzu and I order. I learn an interesting thing about Kakuzu; he drinks his coffee without cream and with two sugars.

"Hey Kakuzu," I chirp after getting a cup of caramel mocha coffee, "You mentioned earlier that I wasn't packing what you were into. I also heard a rumor you have a crush on a certain Jashinist, care to elaborate?"

"I like Hidan, he's a whore." Kakuzu says with a shrug, "End of story."

"I don't like that ending." I pout, "You should buy him a rabbit to kill, or taking him paint balling as a date, that would be so cute!"

"That also involves him spending money." Sasori mumbles, "I just bought him his coffee."

"I hate to admit it but if it's for Hidan I think I could-" he chokes, "Spend a few extra bucks on him."

"Wow you really do like him." Sasori mumbles.

"Yes, and he does not like me so let's just drop it." Kakuzu sighs as we step outside.

"Hey Kakuzu don't be so blue, you need to be more optimistic. It will happen for you to as long as your patient and always there for him." I say.

He looks like he wants to say something but Pein calls us over. We walk back to Sasori's car. Pein is standing outside looking irritated and ready to throw down. He gives us all a nod and then gestures for us to get in the car. We oblige. Sasori starts the car and seems to wait for further instructions. I turn to look at Pein who is massaging his temples.

"So where to Papa Bear?" I ask, he looks up at meets my gaze.

"We are going to the base; I have called for an emergency Akatsuki meeting." Pein answers.

"Worried about what we saw today." I sigh, leaning back into my seat, "Can't say I blame you."

"We need everyone in Akatsuki to know the Oto are super serious and that we need to eliminate them immediately. I don't want any more talking or associating with them. Which seems to be a problem since they simply love you Mayumi." I cringe at his words, "Not to mention half of us are in the Leaders class, this is just a nightmare."

"Calm down Pein, we will discuss all of this at the meeting." I answer.

"There is more that I am worried about, stuff I grabbed that you guys didn't see."

"What is it?"I question turning to look at him.

His eyes meet mine and I feel a shiver run down my back. His gray eyes are frantic, cold, and filled with worry, worry for me. He pulls a folder out from the back of his shirt and slips a photograph out of it. The photo is a picture of my house, with my leaving it to walk to Sasori's car. I gasp and cover my mouth, holy shit.

"I am really worried for you Mayumi."


End file.
